EP Review: Sparkle In My Eye

Originally hailing from Dunedin Jarni Blair is currently residing in Auckland while trying to further a musical career that started from a young age. Having played in bands throughout his high school career Jarni made the decision (in his last year) to try his hands at a solo career that appears to be drawing a loyal following.

Sparkle In My Eye is the anticipated follow up EP to Jarni’s debut EP (Between Two Dreams) which was released in 2016, so let’s dive in and discover what Jarni has come up with this time.

I feel compelled to talk about the opening track on the EP, Better Me. The imagery the lyrics “and the words that you spoke, cut straight through the smoke. Now that I’m clean, you won’t be dreaming of a better me” create are of someone who has struggled with inner demons from a possible addiction, but they’ve made the conscious decision to get themselves clean and break free, but not before the possibility of losing a relationship.

This track is beautifully written, and the brief guitar solo is something to be admired. The guitars in this track are reminiscent of the legendary Santana, and the comparison is a very high compliment.

The other track that is worthy of a mention was the title track Sparkle In My Eye. Once again the guitars were captivating with an instant feel of Carlos Santana that demands your immediate attention. While this track has a completely different overall feeling, the lyrics are still able to somewhat tie into the feeling that Better Me gave me.

Based on the lyrics, I felt as though that Better Me is about breaking free of drug addiction and Sparkle In My Eye is about breaking free of an addiction to a particular person, and this makes them both very compelling to listen to.

Jarni isn’t afraid to openly write about personally heavy themes rather than thinly hidden ones, which I find refreshing as you don’t come across that very often. This increases my respect for him even more.

I believe Sparkle In My Eye is a great accomplishment for Jarni Blair.