We've had the album for weeks now but I'm still setting aside an hour at the end of each day just so I can give it a full playthrough and devote all my attention to it. I don't think an album has ever made me do that. I find that usually the shine of a new album begins to wear off after the first few listens, but there's something about this album where I just want to savour it as much as I possibly can because it still feels so fresh and exciting and new. Eventually it will start to feel familiar, which isn't a bad thing obviously! I'm just really enjoying having a part of my schedule right now being dedicated to listening to this album from beginning to end and doing nothing else.
The way I took a break for 36 hours to listen to some Perfume Genius, and how pressing play on it this morning gave me enough energy I haven't needed any caffeine all day...
I don't think there are enough laurels to hang on the head of this album (as evidenced by the constant stream of praise in this thread, as if we've all been living inside some kind of collective fever dream). Instant classic is an understatement. Can we start talking about the last time someone released three studio albums in a row at this level of insane quality (sorry to the Little Gifters but that one doesn't count)?! I'm thinking indie girls like Tori, Bjork, and PJ in the '90s/early aughts. Who else?! Serious question.
It took her just under a decade to get the three albums out, but Janet’s Rhythm Nation - janet. - The Velvet Rope run is also pretty legendary. Fans will want to add others to the count, but I would say those three in particular are pretty much universally agreed upon. The true kii is that Beyoncé can be trusted to have a flawless three-album run with this project and its three acts alone dddd
I'm unforgivably late, but after a few false starts I've finally let myself dive into this album. I've been so down lately, and I know it's like 'duh, this is just the thing to lift you out of that funk' but I just haven't been in that sort of receptive space and I didn't want facilitate any negative associations. Anyway, now that I'm living, loving, ascending, and completely healed physically and spiritually, I'm not sure how to move forward in attempting to enjoy anything else.
I knew she was already on that level but Renaissance cements Bey as being in the same tier of Madonna and Janet in terms of the level of consistency and artistry in their music for such a long period of time. For legendary legend 3 album runs, I definitely co-sign Rhythm Nation > janet. > The Velvet Rope. Madonna would have very varied answers but for me it would probably be Ray of Light > Music > American Life. But really you could choose any 3 from between True Blue through to Confessions and I wouldn’t blink at it.
I had been thinking about looking for a new job for a while but hearing Break My Soul did give me the final push to try something new. The bridge has also been especially inspiring.
Her birthday is so close so maybe she keeps them to celebrate with us that day. Would be quite a nice gift.
Happy to see the love for Plastic Off The Sofa, it was the one song that ~resonated~ with me the most when I first listened to the album.
‘America Has A Problem’ is just so gleefully weird and it fills me with joy that she’s still having so much fun with music. There’s nothing trend-chasing on here, despite the dabbling in House music.
I feel that with act i, Beyoncé had a full album to paint using the colors of the dance music genre, referencing trends and styles from the past decades while also pointing to the future. Renaissance is amazing and cohesive piece of work. It reached the goal it set for itself, but I feel that it fails to showcase the full colors of Beyoncé – those that we were able to see on previous albums like B'Day and Lemonade... HipHopeyoncé, Balladyoncé and Countryoncé are nowhere to be found here. I wonder which genres the queen shall cover in future acts. What do you people think?
