Ungodly Hour

Barely out of their teens, sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey were recruited by the management of superdiva Beyoncé and her label Parkwood. Their debut album, The Kids Are Alright, was honoured at the Grammys in 2018, the two found a place on the sitcom Grown-ish, and now here’s the much-awaited Ungodly Hour. Songwriters, composers and performers, they’re certainly not into avant-pop sorcery, but their Black American approach is nevertheless elegant, refined, diversified, and attractive. This approach is accompanied by excellent beatmaking in the context of archipop parameters, sometimes including Caribbean sensibilities. The choice of textures emanating from the keyboards is truly creative, the grooves are sealed in a high-resistance synthetic mortar, the subtle filters on their voices also afford them a uniqueness. Motown-style throwbacks are also on the program with “Don’t Make It Harder On Me”, and the melodies and grooves are (obviously) inviting from start to finish. Ex-Roots Scott Storch and the British duo Disclosure flesh out the songs “Do It” and “Ungodly Hour” respectively, all of which leaves the clear impression that Chloe x Halle could exercise real aesthetic leadership in their still early pop careers.