Final Rating: 7/10
RnB and Pop sensation Beyonce released her new album ‘Lemonade’ through Tidal, on April 23rd. It was also released on Itunes on the evening on April 24th. This is the singer’s sixth solo album to date. According to Tidal, this album is a project “based on every woman’s journey of self-knowledge and healing”.
Overall, I would say this was a generally good album. I don’t think this was necessarily Beyonce’s best and ground-breaking album, but it also wasn’t a bad album either. It was diverse, well produced, and vocals were phenomenal as per usual and expected from Beyonce.
The album begins with “Pray You Catch Me” which had a unique Acapella style opening with light instrumentals in the background, along with some nice vocalizations. It felt like it was going to pick up but it just didn’t, which is fine because after all it is just an introduction however, it would have been a nice touch to the track. Following this track was “Hold Up” which had an island feel electronic style to it, which was definitely “different”. I did like the musicality in this, but it would have been nice to contain some differentiation within it; it became somewhat repetitive.
Being a Jack White fan, I had a great appreciate for the track “Don’t Hurt Yourself” which featured him, and this was probably my favourite track off of the album. Jack White and Beyonce are two artist’s who have two very differentiating and unique styles, and somehow they were able to collaborate these into an alternative rock-pop style song. Beyonce changed her style of vocals and roughened/loosened them up, for a more alternative feel. I really enjoyed the addition of his vocals in the chorus.
Sorry had a futuristic electronic style to it, but I was not a fan. It was a little too much electronic for me, as well as high pitched. I also felt that her style of singing did not go along with the musicality and style of the song, this was not a favourite of mine off of the album.
Suprisingly, I really enjoyed the track 6 Inch featuring The Weeknd. Personally, I’m not really a huge fan of The Weeknd, so I wasn’t expecting to like the song but I actually really liked it. She had really cool stylized vocals in this, they were somewhat darker. This song contained an awesome pick up, and was probably one of the best songs on the album. It was very diverse and had many different instrumental, electronical, and vocal aspects in it as Beyonce used many different styles, as well as the addition of vocals from The Weeknd. With this being said, I would have liked to hear a bit more from The Weeknd within the song.
I didn’t really care much for Love Drought, Sandcastles was a nice intimate track but it didn’t stand out to me too much personally. I admired the interlude Forward featuring James Blake; it was a nice breakdown within the album. Freedom was a fun track featuring Kendrick Lamar, very Kendrick Style.
The final track on the album Formation was most definitely the best track. Vocals were beautifully done, and it had the most catchy rhythm. This is a more Hip Hop styled track. The tune is more up beat and contains some interesting beats within it; I think this track will do the best off of the album.
Overall, this is a cool album because I think Beyonce steps out of her comfort zone experimenting with different styles of not only genre, but unique artists as well. Like I said previously I don’t think this is her best album. But it is a good one. I strongly appreciate the experimentation.
