Alex Blair's The Eclipse Review

Earlier this month, Dallas’ contemporary R&B songstress Alex Blair released her sophomore ep titled The Eclipse, available on multiple streaming platforms. After months of anticipation and the lavish album release party, Blair has blessed her fans with a conceptual project parallel to her evolution in life. From a different perspective, one could look at The Eclipse as a series of diary entries. As the predecessor to Taste, her freshman album, The Eclipse offers a bundle of newfound confidence with a bit of a stronger foundation, awareness, maturity and it maintains the fun. What’s admirable above all is the undeniable tone of intimacy in the project, exposing itself in various angles. The growth in her voice and in the lyricism is detectable enough for the average listener to catch on to, even if they’ve never heard of her music before. The cherry on top of The Eclipse is the way it captivates the listener. Blair has the natural ability to seduce the listener’s ear past temptation to create a sensual vibe is unmatched.

As stated before, one could look at The Eclipse as a series of diary entries. From that perspective, an open mind and open ear can feel the tone of every song, like an open book. Blair’s current vocal style and tone is fuller, which gives more room to bring the listener into her world. As opposed her last project, there’s a level of independency, self-empowerment/discovery and sass, creating an intriguing aura around it. Influenced by the smooth, charming tones of nostalgic 90’s R&B, Blair adds her brand of an alluring flavor to the genre. Distinctive and contemporary, this project stands all on it from the quality of sound, overall tone and relatability.

I’ve taken a considerable amount of time giving the project my undivided attention over the past week, allowing myself to soak up the details. In my opinion, They Be Like is the perfect introduction song. In the boastful spirit of happiness and self- love, Blair lets her listeners know she’s not concerned what her haters say, and she is here to slay. With her demand for respect, she isn’t here for to play games anymore. Following behind was the song that struck my attention the most. Stuck With You. Recently, I spoke with Blair about The Eclipse to get the artist’s perspective. She opens up about period of time when the words of others had a negative effect on the artist. Many times, it was a battle royale the power of words and self-worth. Ultimately, as she embarks on her on the journey of the come up with her haters having her name stuck in their mouths. Unphased by the senseless criticism, she’s well aware of the foolishness. In addition, there is no way to ignore the fact that Stuck With You is a nice mid-tempo bop. I Wonder is a track I can safely say is one of my favorites. It showcases the elements of R&B I grew up on. The vulnerability behind this track with the ambience to match is timeless and relatable. Blair exercises a nice example of her even vocal range through the track. Listening to the flow of the song and the catchiness, I was able to pick up the influences, keeping my ears glued during a couple of replays.

The one issue I did have at first was the duration of the cannabis- infused track Higher. I felt like it could be a longer song, at least twice as long. After Blair informed me of the possibility of remixed version with an additional feature, I wasn’t so sour about it. It did cause me to replay it a couple of times before moving on. Nonetheless, a handful of joints were rolled for the times I enjoyed the track. Crave is a provocative track that snag my attention as soon as it chimed in. As soon as Blair sings the first two lines, you can immediately tell the direction it was going. Whether the track is meant to entice the mood or set the tone for a hot and steamy night, Crave is one of those tracks filled with arousal and temptation, enough to spark the inner freak in her fans. Unless there is a lack of imagination, the beat itself is as seductive and the lyrics and the emotion attached to it.

Following the release of The Eclipse was the visual release for her single from the album, IF. The visual itself is a twist of a soulful 70’s throwback, kickback vibe with a splash of modernism while maintaining it’s fun and caters to its charisma. The movement and the flow of this visual and the song together maintains consistency. Colorful and light-hearted, the visual serves as eye candy as Blair is seen in a handful outfits, equivalent to her ways of self-expression and carefree spirit. Alongside the visual, IF is a gratifyingly slower tempo bop for the easy listener to dive into. This is one of the tracks on the project that catapults the listener in Blair’s world: a questionable love interest with a tad of uncertainty as towards the conclusion of the entanglement.

By definition, an eclipse is when one astronomical planet, such as the moon, moves into the shadow of another plant, creating an undeniable illuminating effect, hence the conceptual aspect of the project. From a musical and creative standpoint, Blair has stepped away from the shadow of her former self. Through the rough patches of life and the road of self-discovery, the illumination presents itself in a form of a better, more enlightened version of Blair. Stepping out in the world and into the booth with a newer version of herself, Blair alongside with her talented team of producers, engineers, etc, created a complete and cohesive album that guides her listeners through steps in her journey. Each song offers depth and honesty, but in a way that keeps your ear stuck to your Airpods. Delightful and tasteful, Blair’s The Eclipse is a wonderful piece of art with integral parts full of personality, class and is perfect for an afternoon kickback or a late evening/night cap. Tap the image below to give The Eclipse a listen.