Beyonce, "Lemonade"

“LEMONADE”

Columbia Records

It’ll take a while to absorb everything that Beyonce has poured into her sixth studio album — a dozen songs plus a 60-minute movie that is more than just a mere advertisement for the music, but an essential companion that provides context and deepens understanding.

But it’s apparent already that “Lemonade” is the artist’s most accomplished and cohesive work yet, and that’s not meant to underestimate the impact of a discography that has yielded era-defining singles such as “Single Ladies” and “Irreplaceable.”

“Lemonade” is more than just a play for pop supremacy. It’s the work of an artist who is trying to get to know herself better, for better or worse, and letting the listeners/viewers in on the sometimes brutal self-interrogation.

The gossips are flapping about what insights “Lemonade” may or may not provide into the turmoil in Beyonce’s marriage to Jay Z, but that would be selling it short. There’s a painful breakup at its center, but it offers a wider-screen view into family.

None of it would matter if the music consisted of pre-made songs dished out by the usual A-list producers, but Beyonce spends most of the album smashing the cookie cutter.

“Lemonade” was clearly conceived as a complete work, and Beyonce’s unifying vision for what could have been a prettily packaged hodgepodge should not be discounted.

What she says — conflating her past and her family with her ambition as a young African-American woman with dreams still unrealized — comes through in that don’t-mess-with-me rasp. It’s Beyonce without makeup or the Cleopatra pose saying, “How you like me now?”

— Greg Kot,

Chicago Tribune