COUNTDOWN [Beyoncé's 4 Album Review]

Beyoncé's new album, 4 is slated for release on Tuesday, June 28th, but [un]fortunately the full album leaked last week. Normally, I'm opposed to listening to leaked albums; they're often not official, missing tracks, unmastered and at the core it's a violation of the artist's work. That being said, I couldn't resist, and the album was literally put in my lap, so I listened (I had already pre-ordered it on iTunes, so my conscience is clear). I've been listening to the album on repeat since then. It is not at all what I was expecting, but it is absolutely a pleasant surprise. After reading all the reports from producers that the album was party music focused and taking hints from the lead single, "Run the World (Girls)", I was ready for an album much like B'day, unrelentless, impatient and aggressive. With a few exceptional exceptions, the album has a much different, more mature tone, with more mid-tempos than club bangers. All the strength is there, but it's much more subdued and controlled; instead of an explosion, it's more of a seek and destroy missile. With a relatively slim track listing of just 12 songs, 4 is noticeably shorter than her last album, and thus virtually free of the dreaded "filler" music. There is, however, lots of experimentation, and genre blurring. The standard "two verse and a bridge" formula wildly prevalent in R&B music is hardly employed here. Standout tracks include "Party" (featuring Kanye West and André 3000), the only cameos on the whole album, "I Care", "Start Over", and my personal favorite "Countdown" (I don't know how her team passed this up for the lead single slot). On a bad note (pun intended), I can do without the vintage throwback track "Love on Top"; it sounds like a Dreamgirls throw away. Overall, the songs of the album demonstrate Beyoncé's versatility. She literally outdid herself with this project. I'm sure most of the links to the leaked album are disabled so make sure you cop 4 on 6/28 and don't forget to wish me happy birthday. Now, all hail the Queen!