Words by:
Dan Bull
Yes, it may have taken a while to get this review up, but sometimes art has to be enjoyed before it’s been critiqued, so we have good reason; this was a project that was so secretive that producers only found out they had been included some 24 hours prior to the release.
Almost one week has passed now, and over 1m copies have already been downloaded, but is the new album any good? Yes, basically…. very. Essentially, Beyonce’s fifth solo album is highly significant; you simply cannot ignore the fact that she was able to release it without anybody knowing it had even been completed. Very Bowie, yet somewhat more of an event. What else makes it so significant though? the fact that it’s also a video album, almost completely popping Gaga’s ART concept?, or the fact that it’s self-titled; often the moment when an artist releases a collection that is the point in their career where they have fully evolved, becoming as unanimous with their music as they are ever going to be. (see Arctic Monkey’s AM, don’t see Britney’s Britney Jean.)
Actually, it’s all the above, and more. BEYONCE, arriving after the announcement of a string of new tour dates, is arguably the star’s most instantly-interesting album to date, giving Mrs Jay Z the opportunity to sound 100% like her, but featuring almost none of the direct pop instants of tracks like Crazy In Love (this time it’s the deep and raw Drunk In Love; a series of infectious loops and layers, still featuring her rapping husband).
Instead, BEYONCE offers a series of episodic, futuristic, trance-infused mini epics. In the same vein as Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience, the 3-minute pop gem rule is ignored for tracks that shift tempos, merge genres and allow Mrs Carter’s vocals to switch from airy ‘ghost-like echoes’ to angst-ridden feminist fighter and hip-hop honey in seconds. Unlike the aforementioned 20/20, BEYONCE manages to hold attention throughout. JT even pops up as co-songwriter, along with Timbaland, on Blow, an unobvious disco track in the same vein as Take Back The Night, built around infectious bridges and breaks, before dipping into a sultry French vocal.
Not that there aren’t tracks which don’t directly link with her previous hits. Opener Pretty Hurts (co-penned with Sia, and acting as an unofficial remake of TLC’s Unpretty) is a poppy pep-talk in the same vein as Halo, about how “it’s the soul that needs the surgery”, while lead-single XO (a collaboration with hit-machine Ryan Tedder) is an electronic-ballad that builds into an euphoric chant. “Love me lights out,” Beyoncé repeats, in a coarse broken-vocal in the best possible way; highlighting the experimentation and imperfection of BEYONCE.
Whilst there has never been any denying her oozing sexuality, it has often been offered in an almost innocent way. The new capitalised BEYONCE is fiercer than Sasha in the bedroom, however, with tracks like Rocket (“Let me sit this ass on ya… Let me take this off while you watch me”) being open and obvious about her “flowing river” and “well running dry”. Arguably, it can seem forced considering its sudden thrust, lyrically. No Angel (no Halo anymore?) showcases a pitch so high it’s almost a squeal against a heavy beat, before lush synths and random keys go up against her trademark purr.
Guest vocalist and songwriter Frank Ocean brings Superpower to the table, where layered vocals and stark strings create a minimal epic, while Flawless (containing a portion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech “We Should All Be Feminists”) sees Beyoncé on a furious feminist rage that make Run The World (Girls) and Single Ladies seem like polite gentle reminders. Considering the departure from a more commercial, chart friendly sound, it’s surprising that sister Solange didn’t feature, taking into account the fact that this is more her domain than Beyoncé’s.
Of all the new moments, however, it’s Haunted that is the instant you realise Beyoncé is now a co-producing, forward-thinking artiste; the Princess to Prince, the performer Gaga should still aspire to be, the main contender keeping Jay-Z on his toes. Haunted is a track haunted itself by elements which flow from simple percussion beats to whispered vocal loops to delicate piano until finally it becomes a fully-fledged robotic demon. It makes 4 look like something somebody half the artist could have created. With new Jay-Z signee Boots on production (as he is on for the majority of the LP), it’s once again the last thing you might have expected from a new Beyoncé album, but quite possibly the first you’ll go to really want to hear her.
And then, following the implosion and evolution BEYONCE offers, the album is closed with Blue – a dedication to daughter Blue Ivy that fuses organic instruments with futuristic elements, featuring an adorable outro from Blue herself. In a split-second, it’s a reminder that the artist who has just showcased this statement of future sounds, sex and womanhood, is only human. Despite the fact that this might be the most important moment of her career to date, the most important change in her life since the release of her last album is the fact that she became a mother. Perhaps that’s the most significant thing that brought on this rebirth.
BEYONCE by Beyonce is out now. Hit the iTunes link below to buy:
