Engraved Onto Infinity (LP) - Elion Melody (R&B) Elion Melody joins our blog this week with his 12-track LP “Engraved Onto Infinity.”
A New York native, Elion Melody is a multi-stylistic artist known for soft-spoken vocals and mesmerizing hooks, pursuing universality in his appeal to listeners. His debut EP “Dose of Oxytocin” was released in 2022, followed by his first LP “Lover’s Adrenaline” in 2024, the latter accumulating over 1 million plays within a year. Elion centers his work on love and romance, seeking to showcase vulnerability and touch the souls of his listeners in the process.
Elion describes “Engraved Onto Infinity” as a journey through romance and long-distance relationships, painting the way with poignant lyrics and immersive beats. Like any good artist, the work is based on his personal life, and tells his story by tapping into a blend of genres including R&B, hip hop and pop. Elion totes his latest project as an evolution in his artistry.
A cohesive project for sure, “Engraved Onto Infinity” rests comfortably in silky R&B, with tracks ranging from bedroom jams to those more atmospheric and contemplative. A collection of mostly mid tempos, we get two doses of uptempo afrobeat to break up the project. Overall, the LP feels heavily influenced by 00s and 10s R&B, particularly works from The Dream. In fact, the entire project feels like a dream, a vibey and heady experience that soothes the listener, guiding them down a river as they float on fluidic vocals.
The journey starts on an understated note with “In My Feels”, an R&B cut led by a wistful guitar hook and thudding 808. Elion’s vocals are introduced as soft and pillowy, using modern rhythmic cadences to make an incredibly catchy cut. Beautifully layered and emotionally stirring, it’s a great start to the project.
“Whatever You Need” continues the silkiness of the prior track, laying the backing and supporting vocals on thick, with additional callouts that remind us a lot of the R&B cuts of the early 00s—think the Trey Songz era. We didn’t expect a song titled “Hakuna Matata” to be as sexy as it is, a pure bedroom jam, while “Marry You” sparkles with a punchy percussion and winding bass line.
“Jump Pon Me” picks up the pace with a hip winding mid tempo, our danciest track so far, with vocals just as silky smooth as the prior tracks, while “Real One” also rides hard and to us feels like the clearest contender for radio single treatment.
“Machi’s Interlude” slows things back down with a highly atmospheric vibe, before “STK at 9pm EST” picks us right back up with another cut that rides hard. Starting the final third of the project, “Gyal Dem Hips” dips into the afrobeat for the first true uptempo of the project, levelling up the island grooves of the prior “Jump Pon Me.” This is one that will make you sweat it out on the floor.
“Airborne” knocks with a crisp percussion arrangement, while a synth guitar effect provides some delightful ear candy in the choruses. Penultimate track “Nights Without You” slow things down again as Elion’s heavenly vocals float like smoke, while album closer “I’m Home” rounds out the project with a honey tinged bedroom number.
In sum, we think “Engraved Onto Infinity” is a straight through, no skips project best enjoyed in a hot bath with a glass of wine, alone or with company. ;)
TRACKS:
In My Feels
Whatever You Need
Hakuna Matata
Marry You
Jump Pon Me
Real One
Machi’s Interlude
STK at 9pm EST
Gyal Dem Hips
Airborne
Nights Without You
I’m Home