Album: Blonde
Artist: Frank Ocean
Release: August 20
After teasing us for what seemed like an eternity, Frank Ocean finally gave us a rare reason to smile this year, with Blonde arriving in August to a tumultuous fanfare. Following the huge successes of his Nostalgia, Ultra EP and 2012’s debut album Channel Orange, Ocean has garnered an almost cult following. His unique talents resonate with the masses – evidenced here at the Indie by Blonde being crowned our album of the year.
The record’s sound is one of a predominantly instrumental nature, with many songs only featuring muted percussion. Trance-inducing for the listener – with Ocean’s voice seemingly descending from a hypnotically mesmerising background mist – this style is very much akin to that of another of this year’s meditative masters, Brian Eno, who is interestingly credited as contributing to Blonde.
A prime example of this beautifully crafted fusion of ethereal melodies and delicate vocals is ‘Ivy’. After placing the listener into a comatose state, the track’s rasping conclusion is one that, while it emotes raw emotion, doesn’t betray the album’s serenity. Ocean professes that “I ain’t a kid no more, / We’ll never be those kids again”, proving he has moved on from the aspects of reflection present in both Nostalgia, Ultra and Channel Orange, with Blonde symbolic of an increased maturity as both an artist and a man.
‘Nights’ brings a refreshing burst of impetus to this zen state, with its buoyant chords and upbeat tempo combining gloriously with Ocean’s masterful lyricism in one of Blonde’s real highlights. The song’s second half is one with an obvious sense of fragility, the spoken word stream of consciousness evidence of a more enhanced depth of style rhythmically.
While everyone will have their own opinion on which songs strike a chord with them most, the fact remains that in Blonde, Frank Ocean has an album that is an undisputable ray of light in what has been a somewhat dark year.
https://youtu.be/EVc6vbDiK_g
By Jonno Mack