Album Review: Beyoncé

1 April 2014 ∙ Originally published in The Muse at Dreyfoos

By 2013, R&B singer Beyoncé had already established herself as a long-lasting icon of our generation. With a well-received Superbowl halftime show, a record-breaking world tour and the general realization that nothing she had ever done failed to impress. It would seem pointless to try to squeeze in any more accomplishments, which is why it came as a shock to everyone–and I mean everyone–when, at midnight Dec. 13, Beyoncé released an album of all new songs, complete with accompanying videos.

Encased in all-black with her name printed at the center, Beyoncé’s self-titled 5th album deals with the tried-and-true issues she has been known to deal with, only this time involving a personal context never before seen from her. In “Mine,” a bluesy duet with Drake, she discusses postpartum depression; album tearjerker, “Heaven,” speaks about the loss of a close friend; and “Blue,” is a soothing lullaby aimed towards her baby. Even with all of these deeply personal thoughts being discussed, Beyoncé manages to make the main revelations of the album ones she had never brought up before. Running through the majority of the album is a frank depiction of Beyoncé’s views and practices in the field of sexuality.

With lyrics too explicit to print, Beyoncé shows no reservations in delving into her heavily-publicized-yet-notoriously-private life with husband Jay-Z. While these musings and professions of lust can come across as mere shock tactics at first listen, they eventually reveal themselves to be honest glimpses into oft-ignored deep crevices of our minds. Performed in a distinctly stream-of-consciousness way (fan-favorite “Partition” was freestyled on the spot), these lyrics evoke a truthful nature that resonates in the minds of listeners. The album’s soundscape experiments with sparse and minimalistic beats (‘80s-tinged “No Angel”) yet also indulges in more lush orchestrations (debut single “XO”), resulting in a fresh-sounding slew of tracks from one of music’s most revered performers. 

Not one to turn down a chance to out-Beyoncé herself, she packs in the added visual glory of each song’s video, as well as a bonus clip for “Grown Woman.” Helmed by a eclectic pack of artistic directors, the 17 visually arresting videos encompass a broad scope of themes and influences. Beyoncé, however, remains firmly at the epicenter of the videos: the main attraction of her self-titled effort.

“Probably won’t make no money off this, oh well,” Beyoncé states during the spoken-word poem-song, “Ghost.” Contrary to these misgivings about releasing an album with no previous promotion, ‘Beyoncé’ became the fastest-selling album in iTunes history and went on to sell 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days. Destroying any doubts as to who the current girl-to-beat is, Beyoncé has redefined what it means to be a modern music icon.

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS

Haunted – A sultry two-part insight into the machinations of Beyoncé’s inner mind

Rocket – A slow-burning, soulful bedroom jam that builds up to a brassy finale

Partition – Another two-part song, beginning with the sexy “Yoncé” and ending with Beyoncé’s fantasy of the perfect date night