AFTER FOUR YEARS FRANK OCEAN’S SECOND ALBUM IS FINALLY HERE.
Apple Music unveiled Blond in the early hours of Sunday morning, and it already has people talking. The album, initially named Boys Don’t Cry, follows on from the visual album that was revealed on Thursday. The record is Ocean’s first since 2012’s acclaimed Channel Orange and brings light to the artist’s natural vocal and song-writing skills.
The lead single, ‘Nikes’, was released 24 hours before the new album, with an edgy music video that incorporates nudity, fire, glitter and tears. The track opens with a kaleidoscope of sound that alternates between Ocean’s vocals sped up and slowed down, before his unadulterated voice enters at the end of the track.
Veteran Ocean fans might remember the next song, ‘Ivy’, from its original debut in 2013. With lyrics based on failed personal relationships, Ocean’s voice remains raw and heartfelt – a sharp contrast to Endless, the instrumental-heavy visual album.
Vocals from Béyonce feature in ‘Pink and White’, a personal favourite from the album. Calm yet sultry, warm yet so cool – the song truly epitomises summer. Béyonce’s presence is barely noticeable, soft and unparalleled to Ocean’s emphatic takeover. It’s rare to see Béy taking a back seat and being a contributor instead of dominating like she usually does, but it’s a welcome sight indeed.
‘Be Yourself’ is a one-minute short narrated by Ocean’s mother. In it, she offers maternal advice on the dangers of alcohol and drugs. We’re not sure why it’s there, but we love it nonetheless.
However, the advice seems to have gone through one ear and out the other by Ocean’s next track, ‘Solo’. Describing drug taking and the subsequent comedown, the track is slow and rigid, even sounding like it was produced amidst a “heavy sesh”.
Similar to the aforementioned ‘Pink and White’, ‘Skyline To’ is another track that uses seemingly futile background vocals. This time featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar, who chimes in to heighten the occasional word. Bit pointless but it works, just.
Blond‘s disposition of songs mostly discusses rejection and heartbreak, but ‘Self Control’ is the first love song on the album. With vocals from Austin Feinstein, the lead singer of Slow Hallows, the track opens with a pitched-up rap before Ocean strips thing backs, turning things (ironically) frank and elusive. We’re currently waiting for our crushes to quote this song. Still waiting…
An interlude follows in ‘Good Guy’, an ephemeral sketch that leaves an emotional imprint, maybe more than any other track on the album. The first half of the song describes a date with a more dominating man, but then moves on to two heartbroken men who are sworn of woman. The track actually offers quite an in-depth view of the opposing façades of modern masculinity.
The record continues with ‘Nights’, another favourite of ours. Ocean describes inconsistent recent events and delves into the theme of depression whilst keeping an inexplicably upbeat melody. The message is unswervingly stubborn: new beginnings are never really that new.
Ocean allows André3000 to take control of ‘Solo (Reprise)’, giving his take on the themes set up by the analogous track, ‘Solo’. The song also includes an exciting instrumentation that embraces chilled-out piano strokes and computer-created beats.
It could be said that ‘Pretty Sweet’ is a fitting name for such a short but satisfying track. Ocean appears to be caught in a string of consciousness in the middle of a hurricane. Although words are occasionally hard to make out, the instrumental makes up for it with an exultant beat.
‘Facebook Story’ could be our favourite interlude on the record. SebastiAn tells of a personal anecdote in which a girl dumps him because he won’t accept her Facebook friend request. Perhaps she was disgruntled to know he wouldn’t send her FarmVille items? Yet, the track comes across as quite poignant, touching upon the problems of social media and technophobia in the 21st century.
Next on Blond’s track list is ‘Close to You’, an auto tuned snippet of Stevie Wonder’s cover of a Carpenters song. The familiar tune lingers shamelessly, but is absolutely apt on the album.
Ocean notably stated that one of the inspirations for the album came from The Beatles, and never can this influence be felt more than in ‘White Ferrari’. The slow-burning, minimal ballad makes reference to the Fab Four’s ‘Here, There and everywhere’ track, and sounds just like the start of fall.
Emotions of loneliness and love combine in the imperfect ‘Seigfried’. The lack of an instrumental base means that the song relies heavily on Ocean’s vocals, which quiver interminably, allowing for one of the most vulnerable moments in Blond.
Themes from Channel Orange are still prevalent on the new record, as seen in ‘Godspeed’. The song is loosely described as a love song, where Ocean promises to let go off an old unrequited love interest- perhaps the same person who is referred to in the first album. We don’t know for sure, but either way the track is a beautiful ode to those who have fallen in love with the wrong person. Kim Burrell’s low-key vocals are also formidable.
The last track on the album is ‘Future Free’, a prolix nine-minute piece that justly encapsulates the artist for who he is. Ocean looks back to the past and all that he has overcome whilst remaining diffident. It ends on what seems to be a sound bite from a monotonous interview and a private conversation with a friend – leaving the album feeling intimate yet impenetrable.
So no, the album is not Channel Orange but that’s because Frank Ocean isn’t the same person. He is no longer a charade or character, he is undoubtably himself, and that can be heard in his delicate and personal lyrics. Ocean has grown up, and we’re glad we waited four years to hear it.