Single Review: Anderson .Paak – Fire in the Sky
Charlotte Black reviews Anderson .Paak’s latest release.
Anderson .Paak’s new single ‘Fire in the Sky’ rounds out the end credits for Marvel’s latest release Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, and does so in his signature mellow R&B style. With the pressure of tracking the wait between those post-credit scenes, .Paak has been able to produce a song that while somewhat simple in theme- surrounding the ‘fireworks’ of first falling in love, hits heavy on the instrumental in order to carry the track to success. The bass guitar riffs, drums and synth all work together to effectively map the lyrics out, rising and falling in a cleverly constructed manner in order to achieve what truly feels to be an emanation of the first meeting between strangers, full of heady possibilities.
This all speaks to .Paak’s ability to intimately craft his work across all elements of the production process and of course having the writing credits featuring Silk Sonic collaborator Bruno Mars also helps. Considering this, it will come as no surprise if we are to see the single reach the same levels of success of the duo’s previous releases ‘Leave the Door Open’ and ‘Skate’. Anderson .Paak is looking likely to become a more and more prominent figure in the charts considering his current trajectory, hopefully prompting a quick release of his fully collaborative album with Mars in 2022.
For his solo works, I am also personally holding the hope that .Paak’s newest breakthrough into the on-screen soundtrack scene, in a Marvel heavy-hitter no less, positions the artist in good stead for further film work. It is undoubtable that his lyricism and beats can be easily pictured translating into the backing track of many slice-of-life works, consolidated through the indulgent main-character-moment I can guarantee you, like myself, will have listening to ‘Fire in the Sky’ as you walk around campus.
