In which Alfred and Brad unintentionally ruin an appropriate score…
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[4.29]
Jer Fairall: “If this party gets any more fun, a funeral’s gonna break out.” #rodneydangerfield
[4]
Zach Lyon: Oh, so this is that song that makes me rush to switch the station every time I hear “drippin’ Swagu.”
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: A series of baffling choices from an album where every other choice seems so deliberate. Why would you evoke the Vengaboys? Why does your party involve a chill-out drum loop and poly-blend synths? How is “swagu” acceptable? What, besides dues-paying, possessed someone to swap Andre out for J Cole? Seriously, how is “swagu” acceptable? Where the hell are “I Care” or “End of Time” instead of this?
[4]
Jonathan Bogart: If it weren’t for one of Andre 3000’s preciously rare 2011 verses, the original “Party” would have been one of the most disposable songs on 4. Not that it’s a bad song — Beyoncé’s performance, as always, rescues the generic jam with its specificity — but without Dre’s good-time reverie, it can only build up to the sickening thud of a J. Cole verse.
[4]
Edward Okulicz: The song’s massively less interesting than the weird tricks played on B’s voice, layered and melting into itself. If anything, a song called “Party” is crying out for some of the ostentatious fanfare that “Countdown” had to provide some interest. Even with that wicked slow-jam bassline, this is a wind-down rather than a fire-starter.
[4]
Brad Shoup: I could listen to a loop of B singing “I may be young but I’m ready” for hours. But it’d have to be divorced from Kanye’s oddly busy slow-jam groove. I get overly excited whenever Knowles drops Southern signifiers, so while I understand the horns in “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” are a nod to reggae, I hear the Atlantan detour when they’re suggested here. Once again, Cole’s a placeholder, but at least he doesn’t offend like the coinage of “Swagu”: someone’s truly gone mad with power.
[5]
Alfred Soto: The fat eighties synths and multitracked Beyoncé compensate for this faintest wisp of a song and Kanye sounding like a dumb ass. J Cole, I hope you’re grateful.
[5]