This is the body of work by which Queen Bey should be remembered. Everything Beyoncé Knowles, Sasha Fierce, Mrs. Carter, whatever you want to call her, has represented and spoken about in the past – female empowerment, self-empowerment, sexiness, class, groove – all coalesce righteously on Beyoncé.
Without the visual accompaniments, I think the minimalist grandeur, brazenly honest lyricism and hush-hush leak-proof global release has to be commended. But couple that with the fact that every minute of this album has been synchronised with its own filmic depiction, and we have a behemoth of modern commercial music, full stop. We now live in a post –Beyoncé world. If you think I’m being over-zealous, you haven’t listened to this album. And if you have: you haven’t watched this album.
From the opening track Pretty Hurts, with its sampling of Beyoncé herself (playing a mock beauty pageant contestant, Miss 3rd Ward) stating her aspiration in life is simply ‘to be happy’, we’re given the warning that we might be along for the ride, but this is a body of work made for one person.
Locals will be happy to see her much-publicised shoot in Brunswick serve as a background for the No Angel video. Speaking of cameos, look out for a stellar appearence from both husband Jay-Z in the epic Drunk In Love (spitting gems like ‘We sex again in the morning / Your breasts is my breakfast’) and young daughter Ivy Blue in the aptly-titled Blue, closing out the album proper with a cute-as pie refrain.
The distance between Beyoncé’s last release, 4, and this eponymous beacon is brain-melting. Where the production on 4, even at its most horn-laden and ball-bustingly raucous, sounded shiny, synthetic and thin, Beyoncé is robust and ferocious.
What’s more, all this power is pulled off with a seriously raw production. The bass hits the spot, synths and samples freckle the tracks, but the star of the show is that voice. With Knowles having overseen and assisted production on every track, every video, every word, there’s absolutely no question who’s pulling the strings. If you thought she was a powerful force before, prepare to shut up, bow down and be humbled yet again.
BY MATT PANAG
Best Track: Pretty Hurts
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: PHARRELL, JT, TIMBALAND, THE BIG PINK
In A Word: Triumphant
