“BEYONC É ”

Columbia Records

Beyoncé gets plenty of credit as a singer, dancer, businesswoman and mom. But she’s also a master of the humblebrag, that strategic assertion of modesty that actually demonstrates one’s fabulousness.

“Beyoncé” (which appeared Dec. 12 on iTunes with no advance warning) is itself a kind of humblebrag, reminding us that only she can afford to drop product into a crowded marketplace without mounting an elaborate promotional campaign.

“Probably won’t make no money off this,” she admits in “Haunted,” setting us up for one more delicious turnabout: “Oh well.”

What’s exciting about the record, beyond its means of delivery, is how the music similarly blends the intimate and the extravagant. Made up of 14 new songs and 17 new music videos, “Beyoncé” is by far the most sexually minded album from a singer who’s often projected a virtuousness at odds with peers such as Rihanna and Lady Gaga. In “Drunk in Love,” she trades terrifically raunchy come-ons with Jay Z; it’s like an NC-17 sequel to their 2003 smash “Crazy in Love.”

Yet rather than dramatize these moments with in-your-face production, Beyoncé underplays many of them, often murmuring her most explicit lyrics in a breathy purr that forces you to lean in and listen.

This doesn’t mean the album forgoes the full-tilt spectacle we’ve come to expect from Beyoncé. “Flawless” spikes a clattering beat and instructions to “Bow down” with a monologue by the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. And “Blow” and “Rocket” are sumptuous retro-soul tunes that feel like the singer just wanted to flex her impressive stylistic chops.

As for the liner notes, they too serve as part of the singer’s humblebrag here, with an absurdly expansive roster of talent — Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Drake, The-Dream and Frank Ocean, among others. The list of names indicates her willingness to recruit help while emphasizing her position at the center of the pop universe.

— Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times