Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 06/07/2011 at 6:52 PM Reviews

The Popdust Files: 4 track-by-track, beyonce

Track 3: “I Miss You”

Sounds Like: Beyonce’s take on a mid-’80s Foreigner ballad, with the same kind of vocal longing, late-night desperation lyrics, and most importantly, thick, moody synths.

Pros: Dear God, you’ve got to love those synths, and the minimal, geiger-counter-sounding click-pop beat is the perfect complement to it, keeping the song feeling light and understated, sparing the musical histrionics of a “Dangerously in Love” or “If I Were a Boy.” Beyoncé responds in appropriately-restrained turn, beginning the song in a near-whisper: “I thought that things like this get better with time / But I still need you / Why is that?” The latter rhetorical question reappears throughout the song, a nice little nod to the confusion of heartbreak, and a rare, welcome glimpse of vulnerability for an artist who too often seems to have all of the answers.

Cons: Even at her most subtle, Beyoncé can’t resist going a little dramatic on the song’s later choruses, harmonizing with herself with one of the Queen B’s vocals raised an octave. To be fair, it still works pretty well—the subdued cool of Beyoncé on the surface, undermined by the desperate cry of her subconscious–but it would’ve been nice to hear Beyoncé go a whole song without ever once registering at a 10.

Lyric as Personal Mantra: “No matter who you are / It is so simple / A feeling / But it’s everything.”

Previous Reviews: “1 + 1,” “I Care”

POPDUST SAYS:
[starreview tpl=16]