Music
After a protracted, bumpy build-up, Chlöe released her debut solo album ‘In Pieces‘ early last year. Its impact was muted, a brisk, reverent first project hindered by revisions, lacking the gusto and the omnivorous flourishes of her work under Chloe x Halle. You got the sense that the Atlanta artist was stymied by the industry-assigned graduation to the contemporary pop-RnB mainstage her gaudy anthems and performance persona so often aimed for.
Ever industrious, Chlöe teased a new chapter with the harpsichord-inflected, pop-punk curtain raiser ‘Boy Bye‘ – the latter adding much-needed ballast to a repertoire that languishes often in the slinky, slow jam region. It all leads to a sixteen-track collection, ‘Trouble In Paradise‘. “Songs from my diary, inspired by my favorite island,” the singer shared on Instagram 24 hours before its release, coming to fruition on the island of St Lucia; a much-needed sojourn that inspired a creative re-wiring and recalibration.
‘Trouble In Paradise’ isn’t so much a course correction but a demo-ish detour, transposing the carnal intimations and vocal intimacy of early ’00s RnB to tactile, Island-flavoured beats. The meditative ‘All I Got (Free Falling)’ is a stellar prologue; a splitscreen devotional teasing the heartsick confessionals and the Soca meets Afrofusion propulsion that courses through the rest of the album. Where ‘In Pieces’ felt self-serious and remote, ‘Trouble In Paradise’ positions Chlöe as a perfectly imperfect lover; carefree, tortured, chaotic, loose and above all, exhilarated. It’s a tangled document of romantic bruising, but the tropical humidity and summer soiree of potential new lovers that follows is the predominant moodboard here.
‘Trouble In Paradise’ moves between the lugubrious, log-drum rhythms of Amapiano and the bright, syncopated elation of Afro-pop. ‘Never Let You Go’ featuring YG Marley is tailor-made for transatlantic radio, Chlöe’s voice modulated to a breathy cadence to match the weightlessness of the production. The one-two punch of ‘Redemption’ and ‘Temporarily Single’, merge lascivious RnB phraseology with Island Life blithe guitars, Chlöe’s remonstrations about singledom offset by the communal sway of her most pop-facing releases to date.
Amidst the spatial, hybrid experimentation that sometimes soars, and sometimes falls flat (‘Strawberry Lemonade’ is the SG Lewis dance-funk adjunct that should have been cut…), ‘Want Me’ emerges as the crown jewel. The tender, tone-drenched ballad featuring Halle is a synchronized display of harmonies that crest, float and cede, and just the right amount of psychodramatic soul work that made the sister act so unique.
‘Trouble In Paradise’ is Chlöe reaching for pop glory without fully relinquishing the creaky, slow-build minimalism that so often scaffolds her nimble, acrobatic voice (special mention goes to deep cut, ‘Nice Girls Finish Last’.) ‘Trouble In Paradise’ is clearly the result of Chlöe creating without pressure and with abandon, but two albums in, she has yet to fully negotiate a sound that reads as her own.
7/10
Words: Shahzaib Hussain
—
—
