Sasha Frere-Jones on the release of Beyoncé’s new album: http://nyr.kr/1fBj7Ys
“It’s not surprising that ‘Beyoncé’ is excellent (the pros often work better faster); what is exciting is watching the minor rearrangement within the Knowles-Carter universe, and then seeing the rippling effects throughout the critical community. It is now painfully clear that, just as there is no one way to release an album, there is no single critical response anymore. Years of message boards and blogs and tweeting set up a crossfire that is more interesting and robust than any single review ever will be. The only consensus is that Beyoncé matters—the rest is a firefight in your pocket.”
Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/PW/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment