Last night Chloe X Halle dropped the video for “Ungodly Hour,” the title track off their massive 2020 breakout album. But that wasn’t the only thing they had in store for fans. Since the pandemic has made it impossible for musicians to tour their work, plenty are opting to release a deluxe or revamped version of their records from last year. Chloe X Halle have dubbed theirs the “Chrome Edition” of Ungodly Hour, and dropped the new version tonight. This edition includes two new tracks from the sisters Bailey, and the songs hew a lot closer to gothic pop than the smoldering R&B of the rest of the album.
Not that there aren’t hints of this kind of power on “Tipsy,” but “Hazy” and “80/20” take on an even more confident, swaggering feel — there’s no shying, loved-up narrator on these tracks. Instead, braggadocio and dark beats pepper the new songs, which are ripe for remixes too. And though it’s not fair to constantly compare Chloe and Halle to their mentor, Beyonce, these two songs in particular are reminiscent of some of the more bossed up work she’s been drawn to, especially later in her career. For this duo to already be at that place of extreme confidence at this age? Now that’s the power of a mentor. Check out “Hazy” above and “80/20” below.