Dancing Mania: A Look Back at ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Dance Fever’
We can trace music’s ability to soothe the soul back to King Saul, wherein, “David took the lyre and strummed a tune. Saul got relief from his terror and felt better, and the evil spirit left him” (Samuel 16:14-23). I’m not religious, but the past three years have felt particularly apocalyptic, and music has been one to deliver me from evil. But humanity has gone through countless crises, and we have dealt with them in various ways–which is why I’d like to take a look back on the two most crucial records of 2022: Dance Fever and Renaissance.
The two records pull their titles from distinct eras, coming one right after another. Florence Welch’s Dance Fever is inspired by the phenomenon of uncontrollable dancing sparked across various early European villages, though peaking around the 14th century. In turn, Beyonce calls upon the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries that revived classical antiquity and served as a transition from the middle ages to modernity. (For comparative purposes, I must point out that Florence, Italy is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance).
Both spawn out of a time of tremendous social restraint and tension; from two of the music industry's most inspired vocalists. At the time of Renaissance release, Beyonce had not released a solo project since 2016’s incomparable Lemonade. At the same time, Florence Welch had continued to establish herself as a force in the U.S./U.K. market, being the first British woman to headline Glastonbury this century. Despite their own dabblings–if not outright trailblazing-- in the melancholy, subversive sound of the 2010’s kickstarted by Lana Del Rey, The Weeknd, Lorde among others, Beyoncé and Florence are the seismic shift leading music into a new paradigm of relief and healing.
It’s no wonder both records begin with clear statements of self-assurance. If Beyoncé is “THAT GIRL”, Florence reminds you that she is “King”. Confidence is bolstered by inversions of gender and racial stereotypes, which prompt you to consider the weight of either of these women’s legendary status. Still, with confidence comes an uneasiness that the rest of the respective albums will continue to tackle in their narratives. The value of the art you are listening to is at the forefront of your mind, fluctuating between “ dragged me by my hair and back on with the show” and “you know all these songs sound good.” Because they do sound good.
Florence calls upon deep history to try and understand the pandemic’s isolation. From asking, “Is this how it's always been? / To exist in the face of suffering and death / And somehow still keep singing” to “Like if Jesus came back / but in a beautiful dress!” There is a desperation in the claps and insistent synths of “Free” and “Choreomania” countered by the quietness of “Back in Town” and “Girls Against God”
Beyoncé plays with the same highs and lows of her register. Her voice dips and grows from falsettos to growls within seconds. Three songs in, when you hear, “I’m one of one,” there’s nothing you can do but agree. Renaissance ebbs and flows between free-flowing verse and chorus formations. DJs have to do little work, as Beyoncé has already mastered the tempos and shifts between each track. Likewise, Florence breathes in and out to remind you that the project is a living–even if tenuously–project. There is no linear narrative, but each track is perfectly placed to pull you up to heaven. These two have longs since been known for their range, but “Virgo’s Groove” and “My Love” remind you they are second to none.
Undoubtedly, each track begs you to soak in alcohol. From the euphoric “CUFF IT” to the apocalyptic-hopeful “Daffodil”. Neither woman has ever strayed from discussing their vices, but in a state of emergency, both beg you to “release your anger!” and contend with “this somewhat drunken joke”. Of course, Florence has been sober for years, but the motif of release and control is at the core of both records’ understandings of freedom. At the height of their careers, Florence and Beyoncé must reconsider their role in the world without concerts. While Florence spends more time in anxious reflection–”I don’t know where to put my love…”–both end up back in the same glorious realization: “You know I’ve always been your favorite daughter” sings Florence in “Cassandra” alongside Beyoncé’s “ten ten ten across the boards!”
For some of their motifs to religion, both records are keen to remind the Gods that they are a new age of women. “Oh God, you’re gonna get it”, Florence grits through her teeth against lockdowns. But for all the anger we feel about being cooped up, it cannot compare to the rage that Beyoncé has sung about for years. “CHURCH GIRL” may be towards most people’s rankings of Renaissance but the soulful-rap mix should nevertheless be a highlight of everyone’s listening. Few moments in Beyoncé’s catalog feel as liberating as, “Twirl that ass like you came up out the South, girl.”
But of course, Beyoncé should not escape criticism. The unrelenting use of samples throughout Renaissance can be as genius as it is lazy, particularly when moments like “Heated” feel more like collages of past sounds than a necessary reimagining. Clearly, neither Kelis nor Right Said Fred was keen on their work being interpolated.
Sampling and reworkings are essential to progress, though, and at the end of the day, Beyoncé and Florence prove that borrowing from your foremothers is key to the value of music. The deluxe version of Dance Fever covers the album’s lead inspiration, 70’ Iggy Pop, and Donna Summers’ vocals linger in the background of Beyoncé’s amalgamation “SUMMER RENAISSANCE”. Both recall the importance of the legends before them that have created the kaleidoscopic of music each record pulls into its worlds. From the LGBTQ+ dance halls of Chicago to the bars of London, time bends and shapes itself around these two Virgos.
For albums created in the loneliest moments of the world’s latest pandemic, it is fitting that their closing tracks feature audience applause. When announcing Renaissance, Beyoncé wrote that it became “a place to scream, release, feel freedom.” From Italy to Harlem, the pain and rebirth of life comes forth once more in the art of the 2020s. Luckily for us, both Beyoncé and Florence have made it back to the stage to remind us “what it means to be spared.”
