Elixer - Bria Valente
Metascore
49 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
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  1. All Music Guide
    60
    This attempt at old-fashioned star-making might have worked if Bria Valente had a smidgeon of star charisma but she's merely a pleasantly breathy crooner, slipping easily into Prince's shimmering quiet storm production.
  2. Pitchfork
    32
    Elixer runs the gamut of bland-but-classy R&B, from antiseptic slow jams to rote dance-pop, slick as you'd expect and completely failing to suggest what bunched Prince's panties when he initially discovered Valente.
  3. Rolling Stone
    40
    Valente has a pleasant, if thin, voice--she doesn’t have the chops to elevate this material into anything memorable.
  4. The A.V. Club
    58
    Elixir showcases Bria Valente, whose sultry-but-dull vocals don’t foretell great things.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    42
    Her 10 strenuously generic tracks are pure R&B Ambien, and the lady is no Sheila E.
  6. Billboard
    50
    It's about average for albums from Prince proteges.
  7. Boston Globe
    50
    Polite and polished, the music amounts to little more than R&B lite with washes of bossa nova and strings.
  8. The New York Times
    60
    A palatable but undistinguished batch of slow- to medium-tempo R&B fare.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    50
    The problem is that not enough of Elixer sounds strong or fresh.
  10. Observer Music Monthly
    60
    Elixer is at least a more pleasant listen; ignore the Prince mystique and it's a collection of reasonably well-turned pop ballads.
  11. Hartford Courant
    40
    The third disc, Bria Valente's Elixer, is a tepid afterthought.
  12. Vibe
    40
    Her ten tracks are disposable, and redeemed only by Prince’s extraordinary production ear.

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