Album Review: Chloe, In Pieces

Chloe

In Pieces (released March 31, 2023)

Establishing an identity is everything in the world of music. It’s what makes an artist stand out in a crowd. It’s how they make connections with their fanbase. It’s how they brand themselves.

When it comes to younger artists, we often witness the evolution of that identity before our eyes:

Usher went from the boy next door to the shirtless sex symbol.

Aaliyah evolved from the cool chick on the block with bandanas to the seductive snake charmer.

The Weeknd morphed from creepy club weirdo to a one-man 80s cover band.

And Chloe Bailey? I think she’s still trying to figure out who she is.

Chloe and her sister Halle were pegged as future megastars from jump – no pressure there, I’m sure. But after a pair of well-received albums as a duo (with 2020’s Ungodly Hour particularly turning heads) and Halle heading UNDA DA SEE to become Hollywood’s next Little Mermaid, that left Chloe to establish herself as a solo star.

First step – become the thirst trap queen of Tik Tok.

Yeah, it was shocking at first, but that’s just because we were introduced to her as a soft-spoken teen. It’s like stumbling upon your niece’s Finsta account on Instagram – it might be weird and unfamiliar but she’s grown now, so let her be grown. As long as it didn’t distract from the music, it wasn’t a big deal to me.

Welllllll, about that…

As we inched closer and closer to the highly-anticipated release of her debut album, we were flooded with singles, most of which were hit or miss. It felt like Chloe was throwing different styles and against the wall, hoping that something – anything – would stick.

True to its name, In Pieces tries to pull all those pieces together.

The album’s premise is pretty standard for R&B – a portrait of a broken-hearted girl searching for peace and stability. But finding WHO that girl is is where the problems arise.

Let’s just start with the first three tracks:

“Pray It Away,” the album’s first proper song, probably sets the world record for the amount of times “fuh n****” is said in the span of 60 seconds. Chloe screeches “my halo is gone” while dealing with her deadbeat dude, wondering if she should reach for God or her gun over the usual trap drum patterns you’ve heard a trillion times already.

“Body Do” follows the glass horsey-hooved path paved by her mentor Beyonce. The goal is to set the dance floor on fire but it’s lukewarm at best.

And then there’s “I Don’t Mind.” The acoustic vibe is a pretty natural fit for Chloe’s tone, but her vocals are too airy and are quickly gobbled up by the production.

Three completely different songs, none of which work.

The album finds a bit more stability midway through.

“Feel Me Cry” is a strong midtempo offering and does a good job conveying the emotion Chole wants to present. She’s not just telling us what’s on her mind, she’s finally making us feel it.

I’m a little more conflicted about “How Does It Feel,” though. Obviously it was set up as the album’s centerpiece single – complete with feature from my wayward Cousin Chris Brown and sample of Dionne Warwick’s “You’re Gonna Need Me,” popularized in more recent times by Usher’s “Throwback.” The song is fun (mainly because it reminds me of Dionne and Usher) but producers Hitmaka and Cardiac don’t do anything new with the sample – it’s just a copy/paste job of Just Blaze’s work in 2004.

Look, I have no issue with sampling in theory. Some of my all-time favorite songs borrow from other classics. But you’ve gotta bring something new to the table, otherwise you’re just tracing someone else’s artwork.  Still, I can’t deny that beat,  

But the album’s biggest win for me is “Worried.” Metro Boomin gets it right – the production is catchy, Chloe brings real energy to the track and the song’s “mind your own business” message is spot-on. “If you spend all that time you spend on me on yourself/then you get peace of mind, you could be somebody else.”

TALK TO ‘EM, SIS.

Let me loop that when y’all start complaining about this review in my mentions.

Nothing else on In Pieces reaches those highs, despite good intentions. “Told Ya” features my homegirl Missy Elliott so I assumed that would be a guaranteed hit, but even Misdemeanor’s usual high-octane verse can’t rescue it from mediocrity. I preferred the beat switch at the end of the song to the faux beatboxing we get through most of the track; it’s pretty distracting.

“Make It Look Easy” showcases the pain that Chloe hides behind her smile and could have been a great narrative on the struggles of upholding the “strong Black woman” stereotype, but it never goes as deep as it could. Likewise, the title track aims to be the big power ballad that wraps everything up, but never hits the emotional highs it reaches for. It’s just not powerful enough to raise it from “fine” to “fire.”

If I can point to one song that encapsulates all that’s right and wrong with In Pieces, it’s “Cheatback”: The acoustic production is bursting with energy and Chloe sounds great on it … until she muddles up the mood with unnecessary vocal effects. And speaking of unnecessary, Future, the hip-hop Roomba, then shows up to his usual robo-crooning. There’s TOO MUCH going on.

And that’s where In Pieces struggles. Chloe’s trying to cater to way too many audiences – the dance scene, the Tik Tok tribe, the R&B set, the pop space, hip-hop radio, etc. As a result, In Pieces crumbles into Playlist Syndrome – a random collection of unconnected tracks instead of a complete body of work. In trying to please everyone, she pleases no one.

But Chloe’s still in the formative stages of her career. Once she discovers her voice, her sound and her message, that’s when the megastar will emerge.

I’ll be waiting to meet that Chloe.

Best tracks: “Worried,” “Feel Me Cry,” “How Does It Feel”

3 stars out of 5