Album of the Week
BEYONCÉ
“4”
*½
THINK Beyoncé, and “mellow” isn’t the first word that comes to mind. But on “4,” the singer stifles Sasha Fierce — her hip-hop alter ego — for a collection of mild-child R&B tunes.
This slow-rider attack doesn’t lend these tunes more depth, but does allow Beyoncé to showcase singing skills that range from soprano highs to her knack for shifting from growl to purr. As flexible as her voice is, it’s wasted on songs that wouldn’t stick in your head even if they were smeared with “Crazy in Love” glue.
“4” opens with the love ballad “1+1,” a sleepy R&B piece that floats on subtle neo-soul strings and horns. If vocal elegance is the goal here, Beyoncé ruins the mood by jumping to high notes at the end of each verse, as if somebody had goosed her.
The CD snores on with “I Care,” “I Miss You” and “The Best Thing I Never Had.” By the time you get to “Party,” featuring Kanye West and Andre 3000, you’re ready for fireworks. But it’s another dud, as Beyoncé breezily sings, “We like to party” without conviction. When you think “4” couldn’t get worse, Beyoncé lays down “I Was Here,” which can only be described as cheesy listening.
The lady finally puts a ring on “4” in the hip-pop jam “Countdown,” and later with the Prince-esque “End of Time.” Unfortunately it’s too little, too late.
Download of the week
SELENA GOMEZ &
THE SCENE
“Love You Like a Love Song”
***
ON her hit TV show “Wizards of Waverly Place,” 18-year-old Selena Gomez works plenty of magic. But it’s behind the mike that she’s truly bewitching — especially on her electro-pop single “Love You Like a Love Song” from her new CD, “When the Sun Goes Down.” Musically, it’s a sassy, upbeat dance track that recalls her earlier hit “Round and Round.” Add grown-up, seductive lyrics such as “You played through my mind like a symphony/There’s no way to describe what you do to me,” and with this one, she’s liable to give BF Justin Bieber a run for his money on the charts.