Beyoncé - Self-Titled (Album Review)

Beyoncé - Self-Titled

(Columbia; 2013)

                Let’s just say that Beyoncé had a good 2012 and 2013. Bey had a number of successful singles over those years, got to pal around with the President of the United States, enjoyed the success of a Destiny’s Child pseudo-reunion, became a mother, and – oh yeah – had a remarkable Super Bowl performance. So Beyoncé had an interesting and good turn of events in her life; this also extends to her music. Beyoncé also dropped her fourth album, 4, in 2011, an album that backed off from the immediacy of her previous recordings, and provided some more dynamic songwriting and production. Not only that, but she demonstrated more diverse songwriting topics, with much of the album dedicated to extolling the virtues of marriage and promoting a positive feminist ideology. With heightened experimentation in her music and a trend of popular artists such as Kanye West, Jay Z, and others eschewing radio-friendly songwriting and experimenting in their music as well, one could hope for Beyoncé to follow suit in her music. And Bey’s not one to disappoint.

                Beyoncé, the singer’s fifth studio album, is easily Beyoncé’s darkest, most personal, thought-provoking, and most sexual album released. On top of this, she exhibits on most tracks a minimalistic production that closely resembles that of albums such as Yeezus. Though I wouldn’t dare to call the album not commercially accessible – it is a Beyoncé album, after all – it does give the listener a plethora of interesting sounds to sample, that aren’t normally found in popular music. It, of course, showcases the singer’s remarkable vocal talent, but the production on the album is nowhere near as bombastic as the one present on records such as Dangerously in Love; the sounds of the album require more attention to fully digest. Not only that, but songs can actually be divided into multi-movement works, showcasing a decidedly more ambitious Beyoncé in the studio.

                Lyrically, Beyoncé also continues the trend set by 4 by providing a number of songs with insightful lyrics. Beyoncé continues to promote the virtues of monogamy, married life, and feminism, but she also incorporates songs regarding motherhood, amps up the sexuality to eleven, and goes even further with the themes present on 4. This is immediately apparent on the first track on the album, “Pretty Hurts,” with Beyoncé decrying the beauty industry, saying that women worldwide should be happy with themselves, and shouldn’t have to conform to societies’ standards of beauty. The track is also accompanied with a soaring, yet low-key beat and Beyoncé’s soaring vocals, starting the album on a very high note. However, Beyoncé quickly follows up the track with the albums darkest moment, “Haunted.” The track offers some ethereal beats underneath spoken-word from Beyoncé, then shifts into a second movement featuring driving percussion, and vivid sexual imagery. “Haunted” also continues the trend set by the previous song by expressing a desire to not conform to society, but this time, in the sense of doing what you love, producing art, and not being ground down by the machine.

                The album possesses a number of high notes, with Beyoncé challenging herself with advanced lyrical topics; songs like “Blue,” which is about postpartum depression (it also features her daughter, Blue, for which the track is named, at the end), or songs like “Mine” or “Jealous” which deal with marriage. On certain tracks on the album, notably “Rocket,” a neo-soul track, and “Partition,” which is inspired by the styles of G-Funk, manage to reconcile Beyoncé’s new married life with a deeply sexual nature. One of the most personal moments on the album, the track “Heaven,” features Beyoncé detailing her sadness over the miscarriage that she suffered around 2011, with her singing a mournful tone over a piano ballad. Beyoncé also continues to explore feminist ideology on tracks like “Superpower,” a track that expresses that no woman is perfect, but that perfection can perhaps be found in imperfections.  This is also reflected in the song “***Flawless,” what is perhaps the album’s strongest point, rallies women around the notion that they are flawless, and to be comfortable in their skin – an idea previously stated on “Pretty Hurts,” but here Beyoncé possessed a more confident tone with her powerful, high ranging voice counterbalanced with a semi-aggressive tone, over top a trap beat.

                The album is not, however, a perfect diamond. The aforementioned hyper-sexuality that is balanced with Beyoncé’s married life is often times bawdy and overblown. Tracks like “Blow” and “Drunk in Love” come off as too overtop with their innuendos. Though “Blow” is greatly redeemed by the bouncy guitars in the song, lyrics like “Can you eat my Skittles/That’s the sweetest in the middle/Pink is the flavor/Solve the riddle” leave little to the imagination. On top of that, the song “Drunk in Love” features a trap beat that clashes with Beyoncé’s high ranging voice; though “***Flawless” manages to pull the beat off with aplomb, “Drunk in Love” leaves the listener with a sour taste.

                The album isn’t perfect, but it is a bold step for Beyoncé. It features one of the most iconic performers of the 21^st century deconstructing herself, making her personal life her art, and pushing herself into more ambitious territory, lyrically and sonically. This leads to, perhaps, the high water mark of Beyoncé’s over-a-decade spanning career.

7.25/10

Favorite Tracks: Pretty Hurts, Haunted, Blue, ***Flawless, Partition
Least Favorite Track: Drunk in Love (ft. Jay-Z)