Lorine Chia has never lacked presence. She sings like both prayer and pressure has fed her body. On her latest offering, "This Time," she taps into that steady fire with a honey and smoke-dipped rasp that leans into gospel’s resilience and soul music’s grit.
Every part of her voice carries the ache and audacity of someone who’s had to stand up in rooms built to fold her. A sweet bit of vocal fry peppers her notes like a match strike as she rides her own rhythm over sizzling hi-hats that feel like the world’s rushing past at breakneck speed.
When she reaches the core and sings "It’s all about me this time / And can’t nobody tell me otherwise / Can’t nobody stop me, you can see it in my eyes / I know they ain’t believe me when I told them I could fly," it speaks with conviction and reclamation. It’s a daughter telling the whole family that she’s about to do her version, her way, and on her time.
A simple prayer closes the loop, and we get to hear how Lorine doesn’t ask for much – just peace, and for her and her family to be straight. You can’t help but love the quiet clarity of it all… especially when it’s backed by God and a bouncy-ass beat!
