Ungodly Hour

Ungodly Hour is the second studio album by American R&B duo Chloe x Halle, released through Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records on June 12, 2020. It serves as the follow up to The Kids Are Alright (2018). Originally scheduled for a June 5 release, the album was pushed back to June 12 as a way of showing respect and support to the Black Lives Matter movement.[1][2] Ahead of the album's release, two tracks were released, "Catch Up" (with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It) and "Do It", the lead single off of the album, which has now become their most successful single to date. "Forgive Me" was announced as the second official single and released alongside a music video on June 12. The album was critically acclaimed, with critics praising their vocal delivery, artistic growth, maturity, and the album's cohesiveness.

Ungodly Hour
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 12, 2020 (2020-06-12)
RecordedDecember 2018 - October 2019
GenreR&B
Length37:17
Label
Producer
Chloe x Halle chronology
The Kids Are Alright
(2018)
Ungodly Hour
(2020)
Singles from Ungodly Hour
  1. "Do It"
    Released: May 14, 2020
  2. "Forgive Me"
    Released: June 12, 2020

The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart with 24,000 units sold, marking the duo's highest-charting album.[3]

Background

On May 14, 2020, Chloe x Halle announced their second studio album Ungodly Hour. They also unveiled the artwork and made it available for pre-order with the first two singles "Catch Up" and "Do It", exclusively on iTunes.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year81/100[5]
Metacritic81/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
The Guardian[9]
Our Culture Mag[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Pitchfork7.7/10

The album received critical acclaim, with critics praising their vocal delivery, artistic growth, maturity, and the album's cohesiveness. Shahzaib Hussain of Clash stated that the album "lacks some of the DIY spirit of their earlier efforts, but benefits from navigating the trails of playability and experimentation". He praised the fact that the album "doesn't adhere to good-girl-gone-bad tropes, that age-old changeover from wide-eyed teen sensations to risqué provocateurs" and that the pair's vocals and harmonies elevated the more mundane tracks, concluding, "The Ungodly Hour is a soothing salve for a world on fire. It's an avowal of sisterhood and sorority, a projection of a generation of young black women galvanized by a collective willingness to enact efficacious change in the face of adversity."[7] Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian said the pair match "sumptuous harmonies with intricate beats" and that the listener's attention was drawn to the album's details and "the slow-burn appeal of the pair's vocal melodies, which are habitually inventive, ornate and hauntingly beautiful".[9]

Accolades

Rankings

Accolades for Ungodly Hour
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Rolling Stone Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
44
Uproxx The Best Albums Of 2020 So Far
22

Awards

"Do It" has been nominated for 2 categories at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, Best R&B and Best Quarantine Performance.[14]

Track listing

Adapted from Amazon Music and Tidal.[15][16]

Ungodly Hour track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
C. Bailey0:28
2."Forgive Me"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
  • Charles
  • Spears
2:38
3."Baby Girl"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
C. Bailey3:32
4."Do It"
2:56
5."Tipsy"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
C. Bailey2:33
6."Ungodly Hour"
Disclosure4:16
7."Busy Boy"
3:10
8."Catch Up" (with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It)
  • Mike Will Made-It
  • Pluss
  • Royal Z
3:04
9."Overwhelmed"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
C. Bailey0:52
10."Lonely"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
  • Storch
  • van den Ende
  • Paimon Jahanbin
  • Nima Jahanbin
  • Felicia Ferraro
3:15
11."Don't Make It Harder on Me"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
  • Atweh
  • Gitelman
Gitty3:35
12."Wonder What She Thinks of Me"
  • C. Bailey
  • H. Bailey
Chloe x Halle3:32
13."ROYL"
3:25
Total length:37:10

Notes

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[16]

Instrumentation

  • Adrienne Woods – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Bianca McClure – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Chelsea Stevens – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Derek Dixie – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Marta Honer – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Rhea Hosanny – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Stephanie Matthews – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Stephanie Yu – strings (tracks 1, 2, and 12)

Production

  • Beyoncé Knowles-Carter – executive production
  • Chloe x Halle – executive production, production (tracks 12 and 13)
  • Chloe Bailey – production (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 9), co-production (track 8)
  • Jake One – production (track 2)
  • Sounwave – production (track 2)
  • Scott Storch – production (tracks 4 and 10)
  • Disclosure – production (track 6)
  • Gitty – production (tracks 7 and 11)
  • Nasri – production (tracks 7 and 11)
  • Mike Will Made It – production (track 8)
  • Pluss – production (track 8)
  • Royal Z – production (track 8)
  • Boi-1da – production (track 13)
  • Jahaan Sweet – production (track 13)
  • Vinylz – production (track 13)
  • Asoteric – co-production (track 4)
  • Avedon – co-production (tracks 4 and 10)
  • Wallis Lane – co-production track 10

Technical

  • Dale Becker – mastering (all tracks)
  • Tony Maserati – mixing (tracks 1-7, 10, 11, and 13)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (track 8)
  • Tyler Scott – mixing (tracks 9 and 12)
  • Daniel Pampuri – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 12, and 13)
  • Alex Meskvdi – recording (tracks 1 and 2)
  • Chloe Bailey – recording (tracks 1-7, 9, and 11-13)
  • Todd Robinson – recording (track 4)
  • Gitty – recording (track 7)
  • Guy Lawrence – recording (track 6)
  • Mike Homer – recording (track 8)
  • Nathaniel Alford – recording (track 8)
  • Randy Lanphear – recording (track 8)
  • Nasri – recording (track 11)
  • Andrea Roberts – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, and 12)
  • Halle Bailey – engineering assistance (all tracks)
  • Miles Comaskey – engineering assistance (tracks 1-3, and 6, 7, and 9)
  • Najeeb Jones – engineering assistance (tracks 4, 5, and 10-13)
  • Thomas Cooper – engineering assistance (track 4)
  • DJ Riggins – engineering assistance (track 8)
  • Jacob Richards – engineering assistance (track 8)
  • Mike Seaberg – engineering assistance (track 8)
  • Matt McCobben – engineering assistance (track 13)

Charts

Chart performance for Ungodly Hour
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 160
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[18] 71
French Albums (SNEP)[19] 186
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 80
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[21] 11
US Billboard 200[22] 16
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gollark: ∆÷π
gollark: Text is better. All hail Text.
gollark: `Text`

References

  1. "Chloe x Halle Are Ready To 'Do It' & Prep New Album 'Ungodly Hour'". SoulBounce.com. May 14, 2020.
  2. "Chloe x Halle Announce Sophomore Album 'Ungodly Hour'". ThatGrapeJuice.com. May 14, 2020.
  3. "Chloe x Halle Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  4. "Chloe x Halle Announce The Release Of New Album, Ungodly Hour". SoulBounce. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  5. "Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour - Reviews". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  6. "Critic Reviews for Ungodly Hour by Chloe x Halle". Metacritic. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  7. Hussain, Shahzaib (June 12, 2020). "Chloe x Halle – The Ungodly Hour". Clash. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. Greenblatt, Leah. "Beyoncé proteges Chloe x Halle step up on the soul-sweetened Ungodly Hour: Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  9. Aroesti, Rachel (June 12, 2020). "Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour review – classy R&B from precocious all-rounders". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  10. Pappis, Konstantinos (June 18, 2020). "Album Review: Chloe x Halle, 'Ungodly Hour'". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  11. Dolan, Jon. "Chloe x Halle Shine Together on Ungodly Hour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  12. Schwartz, Danny (June 17, 2020). "50 Best Albums of 2020 – So Far". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  13. "The Best Albums Of 2020 So Far". Consequence of Sound. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  14. "Here Are the 2020 MTV VMA Nominees". complex.com. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. "Ungodly Hour [Explicit] by Chloe x Halle". Amazon Music. Amazon.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  16. "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  18. "Chloe x Halle Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  19. "Top Albums (Week 25, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  21. 19, 2020/115/ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  22. "Chloe x Halle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
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