Beyoncé - Renaissance

i would've locked the doors the studio before AG cook arrived

He has a single credit on a song with 7 other writers. Sounds like you would have done that regardless of what the song sounded like.

Lemonade is my favorite Beyonce album, one of the few I can play end-to-end, despite duds.

i feel like that says more about how you feel about beyonce than how you feel about lemonade. but maybe i’m wrong

this is pretty good, i can understand why "break my soul" was the single because it's one of the most straight-forward tracks here but it's also one of the least interesting. i'm pleasantly surprised & already tempted to call it her best

all the track transitions are very cool

the s/t probably has higher highs but this hangs together better

I have not heard this yet, but I cannot really fathom thinking Lemonade is a better album than the self-titled (or indeed b’day or 4).

I feel like some albums really benefit - in terms of their reputation - from having a clearly defined ~vibe~ that you can summon up in your head without returning to the music to verify (indeed, perhaps doing so would only complicate the sharpness of one’s hot take encapsulation of that vibe), and Lemonade feels like that kind of album to me. I mean, I still like it! But when I read some of the super-positive takes on it I feel like I’m reading about the album the writer likes to imagine it to be rather than the album it is.

apparently the liner notes confirm that there's two more albums recorded & presumably on the way before too long

This album is insane. I probably should have expected that at least one track ("Cozy") would sound like it was produced by Crazy Cousinz, but it was lovely shock. I have a feeling map will love "Virgo's Groove".

"virgo's groove" is a fantastic centrepiece

I'm diving in for round 2 but on first go "Cuff It", "Virgo's Groove", "Heated" and "Pure/Honey" were my favourites

yayy so is this like on the seeker of souls

oh it's out tomorrow lol release dates how do they work

i'm a little surprised it didn't get held back until midnight US time like these sort of big releases usually do

god there's so much going on in "Alien Superstar". The chorus!!!! Crazy song

I have not heard this yet, but I cannot really fathom thinking Lemonade is a better album than the self-titled (or indeed b’day or 4).

why not? The self-titled drags; Lemonade rarely does (I like the eponymous album).

Also, Drake isn’t on Lemonade

well, yeah

lemonade is shorter but half the songs sound like music for car commercials and movie trailers, so i guess it’s a matter of perspective

Most pop music since 2008 does imo

Not criticism btw

i disagree on both counts

giving right said fred a credit on "alien superstar" for the start of the chorus is so ridiculous lmao

covidiots gotta get paid

Listening to this for the 3rd time and I like it a lot so far.
There's a light summer party vibe and it's pretty easy to play in loop.
Still working on individual tracks but I'm sure there's at least half of the album that is quite strong.

I also like that that there's no dodgy collab

This album bangs like a motherfucker and I’m only 3 songs in

spoiler: it keeps banging until the end.

#RenaisSLAMS!

And the one with "America" in the title is not what I expected.

giving right said fred a credit on "alien superstar" for the start of the chorus is so ridiculous lmao

Digging into the credits is pretty interesting: Kelman Duran, The-Dream, Honey Dijon, Green Velvet, MikeQ, Neptunes, A.G. Cook, Tems...

was kinda turned off by "i'm that girl," but every song since has been pretty fantastic (i'm at "church girl" which might be my fav yet), and the "energy"/"break my soul" transition made me tip my cap

ok "heated" is the second dud, such a drake melody that it's distracting

Test driving now (without looking at song titles yet).

After two listens I'm almost ready to say this is her best. Whether it's true or not I get the impression that she's taking herself a bit less seriously here than on the S/T and Lemonade, which is refreshing. Light summer party vibe otm.

"Plastic Off the Sofa" is my fave so far; that chord progression goes straight to my pleasure centers (buttery major 7ths are definitely involved). A Syd co-write too.

i really loved "i'm that girl", i'm still on my first listen though

ok "heated" is the second dud, such a drake melody that it's distracting

Me too! Maybe I'm just basic, but I enjoyed the whole thing, lol

bass & drums there are so hot, and what happens in the arrangement from 2:30 onwards

xp

this album is somewhere between solid and excellent I'm not sure yet

so many things happen halfway in these tracks, “Thique” another case in point

feel like this is a self evidently great album, not even sure what else to say

y'all are welcome to heated lol. the second half was a bit more nondescript than the first imo, but still solid. need to listen again.

but the stretch from "cozy" to "move" is reeeeeal good

one of my main takeaways is how good "break my soul" sounds in the context of the album compared to being a single. the transition into it is fantastic and it has a streamlined urgency right at the heart of the album that contrasts w/ the rest of the record in a way i find really effective

y'all are welcome to heated lol. the second half was a bit more nondescript than the first imo, but still solid. need to listen again.

but the stretch from "cozy" to "move" is reeeeeal good

― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Friday, July 29, 2022 4:38 PM (one minute ago)bookmarkflaglink

i agree that is the killer stretch of the record and the second half is prob less memorable but also the second part of "pure/honey" might be my fav thing on the album outside of "church girl." i would pay good money for her to do a whole album w/ raphael saadiq

I listened to this determinedly low stakes affair over lunch and last week's New Yorker article about yachters.

My second impression: I like it: the beats, her comfort over the opulent sampled/interpolated/stolen grooves, especially if I tune out the references to the pleasures of plutocracy.

"Cozy" is my jam, Solange allusion and all.

especially if I tune out the references to the pleasures of plutocracy

harder or easier to do this when you're reading a 15,000 word article on mega yachts?

seconding the love for both "church girl" and "cozy." "church girl" is prob gonna wind up one of my favorite songs of the year

pretty sure the album version of "Break My Soul" is a different mix