RENAISSANCE
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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
If ‘Lemonade’ was Beyoncé’s defining personal statement, ‘RENAISSANCE’ may be her defining musical statement. The greatest DJ set you’ll ever hear from the greatest pop star of the modern age.
100
For her seventh album, her least personal but most confident to date, it is not hyperbolic to say RENAISSANCE is the sound of a once-in-a-generation superstar performing at her peak.
100
The singer's shape-shifting latest celebrates the escapist world of the club, whirling through genres and name-checking floor-fillers that have ruled discotheques and warehouses for decades.
100
The absolute, radical, fearsome joy of the music comes first – in fact boosting the power of its messages, but allowing you to leave them to the discourse lovers if you want.
100
Despite its power to unify, dance music can be dismissed as repetition and homogeny. Beyoncé’s artistic use of it as a medium, however, investigates hidden corners of the genre with complex arrangements and atypical melodies.
100
RENAISSANCE, her first solo project in six years, is a testament to fun, a reminder of who Beyoncé is, as well as a thank you for everyone who got her this far.
90
With a consistently hedonistic vibe from start to finish, here is your invite to a party as opulent as it is debauched.
90
Beyoncé has a long track record of platforming Black artistry, and in true Afrofuturism style, Renaissance is both backward-looking and forward-thinking. A colorful, euphoric and glittery celebration of what has passed and what is still to come.
90
Beyoncé’s seventh album is not just a pop star’s immaculate dance record, but a rich celebration of club music and its sweaty, emancipatory spirit.
90
Beyoncé’s seventh studio album marks a clear transition from the serious topics of her previous works and celebrates the underappreciated architects of disco, house, and the funky sounds that are typically seen, even to this day, as white.
90
This is an album which works not only as an escapist bit of fun to get away from the troubles and isolation of the Covid era, but also as a thrilling tour through the history of dance music from disco to the present day.
90
Renaissance is a next-level embrace of myriad dance sub-genres (including disco, house, techno, Afrobeat and bounce), one that’s delivered seamlessly and with genuine revelry.
90
If ‘RENAISSANCE’ doesn’t convince you that a star with nothing to prove continues to produce sprawling bodies of work that are editorially precise, prismatic and rhythmically audacious, nothing will.
90
The LP is top-to-bottom danceable and sequenced with each track setting up the next, through the ecstatic finale.
90
Her seventh album’s quaint grandeur feels stunningly cutting edge.
87
While she’s the one in the spotlight throughout the album, this isn’t a record about her – instead she’s honouring all those people who find themselves through the release provided by these communal spaces. And damn, it’s a hell of a good time.
80
In a catch-all spirit of musical modernism, trap, house, glitchtronica, disco, ragga, South African gqom and future funk are all lobbed into a heady mix, with songs blending into each other and shifting course mid-flow.
80
Pop diva’s masterclass in queer Black musicology.
80
Geared towards lighting up the club (and TikTok), this is Queen Bey’s most upbeat collection yet.
80
Struck with bouts of R'n'B and subtle injections of the singer's gospel roots, RENAISSANCE is shamelessly saucy and freeing, empowering people all over the globe through dance.
80
A holistic dance pop experience.
80
On her seventh album, the singer displaces us from both history and the present and situates us in her unique ecosystem.
80
In her first proper solo release since 2016, Beyoncé′s sense of freedom throughout Renaissance is palpable.
80
The superstar’s first studio album in six years is indebted to house music and New Orleans bounce, keenly reclaiming gentrified genres.
80
On her unapologetically escapist seventh album, the pop superstar unleashes everything from disco bangers to global house hedonism.
80
The odd lapse in judgment aside, the superstar’s seventh solo album is a kaleidoscopic barrage of disco, soul, house and dancehall that puts other post-pandemic party albums in the shade.
80
A continuous mix of hedonism, virtuosity, scholarship and, as one of her disco antecedents would have it, Good Times.
80
The diva's exhilarating tribute to 1980s and 1990s club music – and Right Said Fred – will be filling dance floors for years to come.
80
After two solo albums often remembered for their hefty personal narratives and visual spectacle, Renaissance is a reminder that Beyoncé can make you move.
70
While Renaissance occasionally sports more style than substance, Beyoncé emerges as the re-coronated Queen of Pop and the reigning regent of eclecticism.
So.. here I am, third review for this absolute powerhouse of an album. Why? Because it's fun, it's uplifting, and it deserves a track by track of all 16 songs. This is one of my longest reviews so far, so thank you if you take the time to read through all of my information on the album! This is another review that took me two days of writing, so yeah... effort went into this, a lot of it.
Using the power of queer and black culture, sampling, hard-hitting bass, and old and modern influences, ... read more
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MusicXXY, seosoo, Pacaveli, samfranzini7, anztec, Nightvision, sweertner, vilasboas, VeniceBitch, ZAPATA, 6bubble6bubble6, lajot, riquitrefe, cemetrygate, LeoMonagatti, OPENblinds, chromaticamatt, stolenpositions, Paullover, AHuggsBecome a Donor
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Track List
| 1 | I'M THAT GIRL 3:28 | 82 |
| 2 | COZY 3:30 | 83 |
| 3 | ALIEN SUPERSTAR 3:35 | 88 |
| 4 | CUFF IT 3:45 | 88 |
| 5 | ENERGY 1:56 feat. BEAM | 80 |
| 6 | BREAK MY SOUL 4:38 | 84 |
| 7 | CHURCH GIRL 3:44 | 78 |
| 8 | PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA 4:14 | 81 |
| 9 | VIRGO'S GROOVE 6:08 | 89 |
| 10 | MOVE 3:23 feat. Grace Jones, Tems | 78 |
| 11 | HEATED 4:20 | 82 |
| 12 | THIQUE 4:04 | 79 |
| 13 | ALL UP IN YOUR MIND 2:49 | 80 |
| 14 | AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM 3:18 | 84 |
| 15 | PURE/HONEY 4:48 | 85 |
| 16 | SUMMER RENAISSANCE 4:33 | 87 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 2 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | A.V. Club |
| #1 | / | Clash |
| #1 | / | Dazed |
| #1 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
| #1 | / | Los Angeles Times |
| #1 | / | NPR Music |
| #1 | / | People |
| #1 | / | Pitchfork |
| #1 | / | PopMatters |
| #1 | / | Rolling Stone |
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Added on: June 16, 2022