- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
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.
-
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.
-
Elixer is at least a more pleasant listen; ignore the Prince mystique and it's a collection of reasonably well-turned pop ballads.
-
Valente has a pleasant, if thin, voice--she doesn’t have the chops to elevate this material into anything memorable.
-
A palatable but undistinguished batch of slow- to medium-tempo R&B fare.
-
It's about average for albums from Prince proteges.
-
Polite and polished, the music amounts to little more than R&B lite with washes of bossa nova and strings.
-
Her ten tracks are disposable, and redeemed only by Prince’s extraordinary production ear.
-
The third disc, Bria Valente's Elixer, is a tepid afterthought.
-
The problem is that not enough of Elixer sounds strong or fresh.
-
Elixir showcases Bria Valente, whose sultry-but-dull vocals don’t foretell great things.
-
Her 10 strenuously generic tracks are pure R&B Ambien, and the lady is no Sheila E.