Ungodly Hour [Chrome Edition]

by Chloe x Halle

Overview

The harmonizing Bailey sisters took their time -- three years -- in making their first true album. The deliberation paid off when The Kids Are Alright crossed into the Top 20 of Billboard's R&B/hip-hop chart and was singled out with Grammy nominations for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best New Artist. Their 2020 follow-up might seem rushed in comparison, and its assembly of high-profile producers -- Chloe was the primary producer on the debut -- suggests a conscious attempt to throw their commercial prospects into overdrive. While it evidently came together quicker and was shaped more by outsiders like Sounwave and Jake One, Scott Storch, Disclosure, Mike WiLL Made-It, and Boi-1da, the Baileys' second album is really a refinement of and progression from The Kids Are Alright. Its pop-R&B foundation is a little slicker, still tricked out with the occasional trap-styled production techniques -- probing bass, rattling percussion -- twisted just enough to not sound overdone. The Baileys are unsurprisingly able to adapt to chic throwback soul flavorings and acoustic pop, while on the title track, they slip and slide with finesse over Disclosure's smoothed-out U.K. garage, punctuating it with an impossibly elegant chorus. Sisterhood on nuclear and communal levels is promoted to an unflagging extent by the women, who come across as eager superheroes without a weakness, unless feeling "Overwhelmed" counts, and they might be capable of paralyzing with a single roll of the eyes. They'll catch and reprimand any guy who acts out of line and will make him regret it. The fun peaks on "Tipsy": "I'll hit you where it hurts/If you don't put me first." ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	07/30/2021
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0194398069913
Rank:	31822

Tracks

1. Intro
2. Forgive Me
3. Baby Girl
4. Do It
5. Tipsy
6. Ungodly Hour
7. Busy Boy
8. Catch Up
9. Overwhelmed
10. Lonely
11. Don't Make It Harder on Me
12. Wonder What She Thinks of Me
13. ROYL
14. Hazy
15. 80/20

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chloe x Halle   Primary Artist
Swae Lee   Primary Artist
Mike WiLL Made-It   Featured Artist