4 continues the Beyoncé tradition of making amazingly catchy, anthemic records with some of her best songs to date.
Her voice is the best it has ever been. Her music is the best it has ever been.
4 doesn't necessarily stand so well by itself, but as part of the Beyoncé experience, there are enough vehicles here to keep her moving.
The lack of in-your-face future-funk arrangements isn't a sign that Beyoncé has lost her appetite for domination; indeed, as a singer's showcase, 4 will probably end up bested this year only by Adele's 21.
4 ... is a bold musical statement, even if you can't escape the feeling that her label took control of the second half of the album to try and rein in the giddy adventurousness of the first half for the sake of radio play.
4 might be her most impressive collection yet.
Despite some shortcomings, 4 is an unqualified success in the Hawksian sense: There are at least three great songs and no bad ones.
It's a more mature album with songs about the intricacies of relationships, but 4 has its share of stunning tracks, many co-written by The-Dream.
Vocally, she's never sounded better — throaty and precise — but the songs here just aren’t her equal.
It's certainly going to dilate the cervixes of the demographic among B's fanbase who can't hold it in whenever she howls out a slow-burning torch song. In 46 minutes and 12 tracks, 4 suggests a full-term nine months.
Imperfections and all, 4 shows that Beyoncé is willing to defy expectations and embrace her eccentricities. In doing so, she has crafted her most personal and affecting album to date.
Though it contains a few (mostly flaccid) requisite bumpers, 4’s best moments come at lower BPMs.
The songs on 4 display Knowles’ desire to expand beyond the boundaries of her established pop-friendly persona, albeit in a safe, pop-friendly way.
4 is a much more concise, fleshed-out album that shows her seemingly unlimited range and duality.
The singer gets a co-writing credit on all but one of these 12 tracks but there are too many contrasting sentiments: she's in love, breaking up and being abandoned all within the space of 50 minutes.
On 4, she's still missing a real sense of vulnerability but steps out from behind the club jams with beautifully nuanced mid-tempo production.
It is for the most part a fun listen at worst and for her legion of fans it will probably translate to much more.
4’s highs outweigh its elongated troughs.
Where this album should be fresh and current, it sounds tired, repetitive and uninspired.
One of Beyoncé's most fun and vocally energetic albums featuring a classic and delicious R&B sound that marks a moment of transition in the singer's discography.
Love On Top (10/10)
Party (8.4/10)
Schoolin' Life (7.8/10)
Countdown (8.8/10)
I Miss You (8.1/10)
Dance For You (7.5/10)
I Care (8.1/10)
Rather Die Young (7.2/10)
1+1 (7.5/10)
End Of Time (7.4/10)
Run the World (Girls) (8.3/10)
Best Thing I Never Had (9/10)
Start Over (6.8/10)
I Was Here (7.6/10)
Average Score: 80 💚
1+1 - 4/5
I Care - 5/5 ❤
I Miss You - 4/5
Best Thing I Never Had - 5/5 ❤
Party - 4/5
Rather Die Young - 3/5
Start Over - 4/5
Love On Top - 5/5 ❤
Countdown - 4/5
End of Time - 5/5 ❤
I Was Here - 5/5 ❤
Run the World (Girls) - 4/5
This one was at the top of my least fav albums list since forever but I guess it grew on me even tho some tracks are just unbearable and it’s definitely overrated especially Run the World
Love On Top 10/10
Party 10/10
Schoolin' Life 8/10
Countdown 9/10
I Miss You 7/10
Dance For You 10/10
I Care 10/10
Rather Die Young 7/10
1+1 7/10
End Of Time 10/10
Run the World (Girls) 10/10
Best Thing I Never Had 10/10
Start Over 6/10
I Was Here 8/10
1 | 1+1 4:34 | 82 |
2 | I Care 3:59 | 87 |
3 | I Miss You 2:58 | 81 |
4 | Best Thing I Never Had 4:13 | 84 |
5 | Party 4:04 feat. André 3000 | 85 |
6 | Rather Die Young 3:43 | 81 |
7 | Start Over 3:19 | 81 |
8 | Love On Top 4:27 | 92 |
9 | Countdown 3:33 | 87 |
10 | End of Time 3:44 | 87 |
11 | I Was Here 3:59 | 83 |
12 | Run the World (Girls) 3:58 | 77 |
#4 | / | The Guardian |
#7 | / | BBC |
#13 | / | Consequence of Sound |
#18 | / | Stereogum |
#20 | / | Bigger Than The Sound |
#25 | / | Rolling Stone |
#26 | / | Pazz and Jop |
#27 | / | Pitchfork |
#34 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
#39 | / | SPIN |