Though Bruno Mars’ last album (24K Magic) was released in 2016, it felt like a Disneyland recreation of 1986. Anderson .Paak broke out as a rapper and singer who could split the difference between vintage soul and contemporary hip-hop, but 2019’s Ventura was a disappointing retreat into retro. It ain’t broke (Mars’ album took home all the Grammys, and .Paak’s won one, too) so rather than fix it, they’re doubling down with a new collaboration called Silk Sonic.

Released alongside an intro track with spoken-word vocals by Bootsy Collins, “Leave the Door Open” turns ’70s soul into a costume drama, without the drama. You can play spot-the-influences with the skillfully rendered pastiche if you like—you’d perhaps be better served shuffling through an expertly curated quiet-storm compilation, like David Toop’s 1996 anthology Sugar and Poison—but what you’re left with is a shag-carpeted and leisure-suited booty-call slow jam that might hint at late-night “wyd” texts but never breaks character long enough to acknowledge the present. This isn’t postmodern, like The Love Below or even Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine; it’s the past in hologram form. Instead of passively leaving the door open, Silk Sonic should invite listeners to come inside.