Brow Beat

Beyoncé, Master of Mysterious Teases, Teases a New … Something

Ever since Beyoncé surprised everyone (again) with a new song and video ahead of her February Super Bowl performance, fans have been on high alert for a new album. So while the arrival over the weekend of a new teaser video with the title of “Lemonade” isn’t much of a shock, that doesn’t make it any less enticing. This is, after all, new art from Beyoncé.

The rush of abstract images and sounds here is almost Terrence Malick–y. Beyoncé’s hushed voice-over is poetic—or is it just random? (“The past and the present merge to meet us here … What are you hiding? … Lovers … as trees.”) This is laid over Beyoncé bathed in red light, Beyoncé wielding a bat in front of a ball of flames, and a hooded Beyoncé alone in a field of tall grass, among many other striking images. What does all of it mean? Is this a teaser for a single Queen Bey video or an entire album? It seems likely it’s the latter. Will it be as unabashedly political as “Formation” and “Flawless” before it? Maybe—one shot features a chorus of dancers donning what appears to be tribal body paint.

We should have at least some of the answers this Sunday, April 24, at 9 PM, when “Lemonade” premieres on HBO.