Beyonce's sixth album "Lemonade" continues in the dark, Experimental-R&B genre avenue that her amazing self-titled fifth album started. It is definitely a great step forward once again, but the memorability of alot of the songs is what's in question. I feel this way with all of Beyonce's albums. Her album's typically have great songs with very meaningful lyrics, but the more ballad-like the song is, the less memorable it becomes. "Lemonade" though, is different. The production here is so much more eclectic and experimental, just a few notes instantly draws you into the song upon first listens. The same went for her previous album as well. Once you know the songs though, then some of them start to become slightly, noticeably skippable. The lyrical content also isn't as great as some were saying. "Sorry" and "All Night" are both fair standouts on the album, but the lyrics are a little on the cliche side in my opinion. The best songs wind up being the heavier, hip-hop oriented tracks. "6 Inch" samples Hooverphonic's "2Wicky", and it sounds amazing. The lead single "Formation" has the most replay-value, and is the best song on the album. Containing bouncy synths, a hard hip-hop beat, and Beyonce's trademark sarcastic, tell-all lyrics, it is instantly loveable. Songs like the country/folk-y "Daddy Lessons", the overly dramatic gospel-meets-jazz "Freedom", or the piano-ballad breaks "Sandcastles" and "Forward" don't do well adding any memorability. They're not bad songs, it's just the heavier hip-hop cuts wind up sounding stronger, which overshadows them. Overall though, the best thing about "Lemonade" is it doesn't sellout into today's generic-sounding genres. It is very much unique, and is a great addition to Beyonce's discography. Next to her previous, amazing fifth album, this is her second best album to date.
RATING- 6 / 10
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Track Picks:
Don't Hurt Yourself
Sorry
6 Inch
Formation
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