Album Review // elias, if only // Blow Out Your Candles

Self-released

4/5 stars

Local musician and producer elias, if only has been on the scene as a hip-hop artist for years, but his latest three-song EP serves up a sonic landscape exploring themes of love, loss, acceptance, and finding yourself. Vulnerable, sharp, and genre-fluid, the tunes are inspired by soulful, alternative R&B, as well as American roots, adopting grooves and chords from early 2010s jazz and punk. Inspiration from Miguel, Frank Ocean, Doc Watkins, and Taj Mahal can be heard as well as lyrical humor and sarcasm similar to Tom Waits and Thundercat.

Blow Out Your Candles is an EP that explores a wide range of sounds and emotions including grief, anger, defeat, nostalgia, empathy, and adoration. Both tender and petty, the track "I Love You" stands out as a relatable fan-favorite that blurs the lines between love and hate — and the difficulty differentiating between the two as a relationship dissolves. Casey Corritore performs cello on the introspective folk ballad that explodes with bitterness into a punk/rap integration. An accompanying booklet featuring photography by Sarah Moody, illustrations by Bryan Gildone, and an essay by Zach Hyman all create a full experience that blends nicely with "Wind Chimes on the Porch," the EP's final track.