Chloe Bailey’s – stylized mononymously as Chlöe – solo musical journey is off to a great start. Scratch that, it’s off to an epic start. With every new single the artist drops, she further proves she’s someone to watch out for. “Pray It Away” is a deeply soulful and powerful ballad that speaks about controlling a strong impulse and instead redirecting it through something that won’t fill you with regret.
The experience Chlöe sings about in the song is about catching a partner in the act of cheating and being overtaken by the type of anger that could lead you to do some needless damage. So instead of mulling it over and increasing the hurt she feels, and the need to get revenge somehow, Chlöe decides to “take it to church.”
“Now when I hear his name, I get more triggered/My feelings, my feelings, my feelings/They really got hurt and I want better/Oh I, I waste this time for nothin’/I faked it for nothin’,” she sings.
The song is largely complemented by her style of singing and the control she mustered to be able to pass her message through her voice as through the lyrics. Somehow, she was able to convey the frustration, the pain, and the anger through her voice. And the heavy choruses timed in places just take the listener to the next level whenever it comes on.
“Can’t talk to my friends ’cause they hate you too / And if the option’s violence, don’t make me choose it / God knows my heart, I’m wildin’, wildin’ / So close to doin’ somethin’,” she sings of the desperation such discovery can cause. “Maybe I should go and take it to church (Uh) / And wash it away ’cause I wanna hit where it hurts / But I’ma just pray it away before I give him what he desеrves first / Ah (Ah), ah (Ah) / Take it to church.”
“Pray It Away,” released on January 27, was accompanied by a music video directed by Madeline Kate Kann. Shot in an historical Los Angeles church, Chlöe packed in the visuals with religious aesthetics.
Prior to the release of “Pray It Away,” the singer announced that her debut solo album In Pieces will be arriving this March.
Speaking to Complex about what people can expect from her and her younger sister Halle Bailey’s separate projects, the singer-songwriter, actress, and producer said: “What people can look forward to musically from us as a duo is definitely more. My sister and I have been traveling the world. Separately, we have been taking in our own experiences. Now, you will get both perspectives in the studio. I think there are two completely individual perspectives—now, in our new music, and all on the same songs.”
“Pray It Away” is the proof that Chlöe can deliver a great sound that has very little in common with all her other records and it has left fans excited for what’s coming next.