Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ is our Album Of The Year 2022. Released in the torrid heat of Summer ‘22, the 16-track hit parade took on a life of its own: With its promo-averse maker largely missing, the world filled in the blanks with a worldwide “Club Renaissance” takeover. We were freed, if momentarily, from our public and private calamities. On the penultimate track ‘Pure/Honey’, a ballroom bitch-house two-parter, Beyoncé laid out the raison d’etre at the very heart of ‘Renaissance’: the freedom that comes with self-definition and how that opens you up to bask, bathe and receive love; love for one’s self, a lived-in, monogamous kind that Beyonce is so effective at conveying, but also the soul-connected love found with and within chosen families. ‘Renaissance’ flourishes because the samples and references aren’t dissociated from the mores of its genesis. Beyoncé goes right to the source, threading together black musical traditions with a razor-sharp mastery of vernacular that only she is capable of. Beyoncé integrates sounds and soundbites from progenitors of Chicago house, bounce, hyper-pop, disco and beyond, bringing the fiefdoms birthed in margins to the cutting-edge design of her mainstage. And we all know who the greatest performer is. ‘Renaissance’ is artful pop borne from the frontier of feverish experimentation; it is unequivocally Beyoncé’s greatest work, and we’re proud to name it Clash Album Of The Year 2022. Visit ClashMusic.com to read the list in full, or hit the link in our bio. Words: @shazzasherazi Renaissance album art work imagery by Mason Poole for Parkwood Entertainment