Track-by-Track Review of Beyonce’s Album, Lemonade

We’ve been waiting for two and a half years for Beyoncé’s sixth studio album. Lemonade was released while her HBO special of the same name was still airing.  Her masterpiece is new and needed. During a time of such tension and confusion within society, this album provides a form of healing and understanding for all people who are struggling.

The vocals and accompanying music are far from Beyoncé’s usual upbeat songs revealing the perfection of love. They are down to earth lyrics, capturing the truth of her life, no longer romanticized. The beats are slower than her normal dance music, emphasizing the pause she took in her life to reflect and recover from what was most likely trouble in her marriage. The album’s theme and even specific lyrics heavily hint that Jay-Z has not remained faithful to her. While the beginning of the album displays extreme anger and betrayal, the middle songs serve as a beautiful bridge into the final message of forgiveness and rebirth.

Each track described down below serves as a piece to a puzzle, connecting all emotions into one grand theme of experiencing something personally difficult.

Pray You Catch Me

This is the beginning of the story. Beyoncé knows something is wrong, but she can’t believe it. She wishes for it wasn’t true, and she wants to be saved from her nightmare.

Hold Up

This empowering Indie-infused song displays the other side to Beyoncé that is not often seen by the public: crazy and angry. Though she is still in disbelief, it is now for different reasons. She cannot understand why someone would betray her. She also makes it clear that she is “top-tip, five star” Beyoncé, and cheating on her just does not make sense.

Don’t Hurt Yourself feat. Jack White

“Who the f*** do you think I am?” Beyoncé yells, opening a song that contains obvious influences from co-writer and singer, Jack White. Though I thought that “Hold Up” had an angry tone, I now know that Beyoncé can get far more aggravated, and the proof is this song. She warns that if he tries this again, “gon lose your wife.”

Sorry

It is now apparent that after the anger, Bey doesn’t care anymore. She’s not sorry for anything and cares way more about herself, a theme often adored by the BeyHive. I see you, “Me, Myself, and I.” This is also the song responsible for the billions of “Becky with the good hair” memes that have taken the Internet by storm.

6 Inch feat. The Weeknd

This song truly displays “there’s more to the eye than one can see” or hear, as Beyoncé switches rhythm and topic in the middle of the song. At first, she growls about a powerful woman who walks into “the club like nobody’s business,” matching the themes of The Weeknd’s usual songs, but halfway through, Beyoncé explains that not only does she “murder everyone” with her looks, but that she is also “too smart to crave material things,” as she changes her voice and sings harmonically.

Daddy Lessons

It is finally here. After an almost twenty-year career, Beyoncé has taken a shot at country music, and it is some of the truest country I’ve heard from a pop star. She proudly sings, “My daddy warned me about men like you” to display the fact that she was taught right and is no fool. The beat and clapping transports her audience to a big family gathering in the South. There is a cute effect used at the end when a small child is heard saying, “Good job, Bey,” followed by the Queen herself laughing.

Love Drought

A softer sound is suddenly brought in with this soothing depiction of lovers being able to conquer anything together. The thing that stands out in this song is the perfect utilization of synthetic keyboards that match the lyrics in temperament.

Sandcastles

Even when you take the production away, Beyoncé still sizzles. The proof is in the rawest song on the album — vocally and musically. Beyonce simply sings with passion over a piano ballad, flustered with the confusion of broken promises.

Forward feat. James Blake

Co-writer and singer James Blake’s scratchy voice comes off angelic in its high-pitched glory. Beyoncé can barely be heard singing in this song, but deep down, you know that she’s there. The only problem with this song is the length: At one minute and nineteen seconds long, this song begs for a longer version that contains more Beyoncé, thank you.

Freedom

A song this empowering could inspire anyone. “I break chains all by myself/ Won’t let my freedom rot in hell/ Hey! I’m a keep runnin/ Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves,” sounds like a legitimate proverb, but is in fact just lyrics that are often blown off by people due to the “incredibility” of pop music. If someone ever tells off Beyoncé during a conversation, play them this song, and their opinion will most likely change.

All Night

Though Formation is listed afterward, All Night is the true ending of this album. After all the pain displayed, there is love. Beyoncé’s amazing range is on center stage in this rhythm changing masterpiece that sends an ever-true message: once there is forgiveness, love can be even stronger than before. This song is the perfect ending, providing the ultimate closure.

Formation

Formation has been available since February 6th, so every painful minute of my life since then, waiting for B6 to drop, has been spent listening to this and dancing to the Super Bowl 50 choreography every chance that I get. This song is a black power anthem with such an amazing beat that if you played it at a cemetery, a bunch of skeletons would come out of the ground and “get in formation.”

My least favorite track: Forward needs more Beyoncé — still a good song though.

My favorite track: All Night cures depression, and I have a smile plastered on my face the whole time it’s playing.