4 Beyonce (DVD)

Filled with dreamy ballads, Beyonce's new album, 4, is a departure from her earlier work. The slow and passionate opener, 1+1, sets the tone for the entire album, which goes from powerful R&B to flirty tracks filled with whimsical lyrics about relationships and love.

Because of their slower tempo, the first few tracks require patience and are at first indistinguishable from one another. They also have questionable elements, like the heavy hip-hop segment in Party, which features rapper Andre 3000.

Things start to look brighter after the seventh track Start Over, which has a faster beat and boasts better songwriting.

Throughout, though, it's Beyonce's vocals that redeem the album's shaky and discordant beginnings.

Countdown is upbeat and catchy: it is sure to become a regular dance floor staple. It's representative of the album as a whole, a mixed bag of genres: strong military beats sit alongside a reggae vibe reminiscent of Bob Marley.

Wrapping up is Run the World (Girls), Beyonce's latest song of female empowerment, which follows on the heels of Single Ladies (2009). It is the most mainstream song of the bunch.