Music Review - RENAISSANCE by Beyoncé

Renowned readers rejoice! Today we are truly in for a treat as we find ourselves in a renaissance, one where the grass is greener, sunshine persists despite cloudy skies, and Beyoncé has somehow, despite all odds, achieved the illustrious hat-trick.

After her reinvention with Beyoncé, and heartache in Lemonade, we now enjoy a good dance with what made her famous in the first place: music about feeling yourself in spite of any hater, where dance tracks and love songs fly high and hit hard, never faltering on the landing. This meaty 16-track project is focused, surprisingly lean, and in tune with itself where most other projects released by superstars this year have felt adrift – bar Kendrick, of course. 

I can only recommend that you listen to RENAISSANCE without looking at the tracks as they pass you by. Get familiar in your third or fourth listen, which will presumably take place back-to-back-to-back after your first listen because, wow can I not overstate what a fine album this is. I say listen blindly because this is an old-school project where tracks seamlessly transition between each other like my toes through warm butter on the sidewalk. Only this morning, roughly 13 listens deep, did I realise that ‘CUFF IT’’ and ‘ENERGY’ were different songs. I thought the former just broke-down into an unexpected UK drill vibe, but I was wrong. So, so pleasantly wrong. 

My personal favourite track is the hopelessly-in-love ‘ALL UP IN YOUR MIND’, where the anger of adultery from her last project, and the endless distraction of haters, melts away for a blissful three minutes where we can just think about the tiny things that are so especially breathtaking to us, which in Beyoncé’s case is (presumably) Jay-Z’s smile. Her innocence is back and it’s great to hear her describe the rush from the perspective of her eyes, not herself. Such a simple distinction expels so much more personality than a generic ‘I like ya smile, G’.

Now, I personally didn’t think it was possible. A flawless hat-trick is typically something reserved for once every decade or so, but she’s truly nailed this one. I was scared with the weight of precedence that it might throw off her swagger and performance, but like usual, I was wrong. Now let’s see if she can succeed in the insanely ambitious next two acts of her RENAISSANCE trilogy, which she has already announced are in post-production.

RENAISSANCE is streaming now.