Earl St. Clair releases stellar debut EP

What would you get if you mix the vocal range of James Brown, the energy of André 3000, and the emotional deep south blues of B.B. King? Look no further than Earl St. Clair’s debut EP, “My Name is Earl.” Despite being one of Def Jam’s newest artists on the rise, Earl St. Clair seems to have already perfected his craft, creating music that can compete with the best in the industry. After dropping out of college, Earl began his career as a producer and singer/songwriter, eventually finding himself working with some of hip hop’s biggest names, such as Rick Ross and Machine Gun Kelly. It wasn’t long, though, before Earl’s talents were noticed by Def Jam and he ended up signing a record deal with a label in 2016. Despite this background in hip hop, Earl’s music has its roots in blues, soul and funk. Most of the tracks on the EP sound like they could have been pulled straight from the 70s, yet Earl manages to add a modern twist that keeps them fresh and relatable to a new generation of listeners.

The EP starts out with the track “Pain,” an emotional and powerful song that bleeds with the blues. Earl wastes no time in showing off his vocal range and songwriting abilities, telling the story of losing his mother and father over the sound of wailing guitars and full-bodied orchestras. This trend continues into the next track, “Three Story Home,” although this time, Earl sings to the tune of losing the love of his life. These first two tracks make it clear that blues and soul are at the very core of his music, but that is only scratching the surface of what Earl St. Clair is all about.

The next few songs show exactly how hard it is to pin Earl down into a particular genre. “Criminal” offers an upbeat pop tune that carries an almost dancehall feel to it, while “Bad Love” sounds exactly like something off an Earth, Wind & Fire record. Earl then follows up with “Feeling Alive” and “Ain’t Got it Like That,” another set of upbeat, radio-friendly tunes, although on these he brings a more positive message, beginning to stray away from the blues feeling he started the EP off with.

The EP ends with the song “Beautiful War,” a gritty rock ballad that breaks away from all the other songs put on this EP in terms of both its message and sound, speaking on the implications of war instead of Earl’s own sorrows. When looking at all these tracks individually, “My Name is Earl” might appear to be a horrible mess of clashing songs and styles with no common theme or narrative, but Earl’s talent in singing and songwriting allow him to tie everything together in a neatly cohesive package.

Although short, “My Name is Earl” sounds more like a greatest hits compilation than a debut EP, which only makes the release of his upcoming album, Songs About A Girl I Used To Know, much more exciting. As long as he keeps creating music as good as this, Earl St. Clair is definitely an artist to keep an eye out for in the future.

Grade: A