Frank Ocean’s album is amazing. It’s important to start on that note, seeing as the hoopla surrounding its recent release reached media frenzy status with as bizarre of a release strategy as there’s been in recent memory, arguably overshadowing one of the best albums of the year. Ocean has been a hot commodity since his "Channel Orange" coming out party, literally. Despite such, he hasn’t necessarily been the most accessible artist for the media and his fans.
That all plays into the growing myth that is Ocean: a natural recluse who values the art of music over celebrity. Three years after Channel Orange’s release, Ocean posted a mysterious message on his oft-used Tumblr. A cryptic message was posted about “two versionnssss” and “#July2015,” presumed to be two versions of his follow up.
In the following year and most recently in July, Ocean teased possible release dates that seemed to come and go too frequently to not come off as a major troll job. With fan anticipation reaching a high, the Ocean cult of fans seemed to reach a boiling point. Then last week, a live-stream of Ocean building a staircase from scratch accompanied by an assortment of production and chopped song bits were played on loop, sponsored by Apple Music. Later that night, Ocean released the visual album "Endless" to decent fanfare.
Skeptics figured it was a smokescreen and guessed right; his second proper studio album "Blonde" was released exclusively through Apple Music two days later on Aug. 20, accompanied by the print publication Boys Don’t Cry that realizes the two versions Ocean teased. One of the most anticipated albums of the year, one listen reviews and think-pieces came rolling out within two days.
The first critical mistake to make when judging the quality of "Blonde" is trying to do so in a couple days’ time. Understanding, or at least beginning to grasp the album, takes patience. Sitting with the album and listening intently repeatedly helps a picture start to be painted. On first listen, the album seemed chaotic, a bit boring and uninspiring for such an anticipated release.
After truly sitting with the album, certain nuances begin to emerge that place Ocean on a different level than his contemporaries. For one, among the major themes of "Blonde" is the duality behind it. Frank Ocean is bisexual and the album’s title is "Blonde" on Apple Music but "Blond" on the cover art. “Blond” in French means masculine while “Blonde” is feminine.
Even the songwriting, which Ocean has vastly improved on from an already incredibly well written "Channel Orange," has a contradictory nature throughout the album. Ocean flips between sulking in past relationships and present day happenings. He also bounces between braggadocios with a touch of humbleness and self-pity. Ocean ventures into the future with experimental tracks like “Pretty Sweet” while harkening back to the glory days of R&B with the elegant “White Ferrari.” Mostly, "Blonde" is an enigmatic and unstructured sequence of Ocean’s life capsuled into an album.
The production on "Blonde" is sparse, leaving room for an improved singing range. The minimalist album, contradictory to the maximalist, super-produced Channel Orange, sprinkles in a who’s who of collaborators.
James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, Andre 3000 (who delivered a stellar solo reprise verse) and Pharrell are just a few of the A-list contributors. Aside from 3000’s “Solo (Reprise)” verse, none of the collaborators take precedent over Ocean on the album with minimal influence on the overall sonic aesthetic of "Blonde."
"Blonde" is pretty much better than everything else right now because of the way Ocean is a chameleon in 2016’s landscape, yet idiosyncratic with his presence. Never one to be mistaken with his R&B peers Miguel, Chris Brown, PND or even Bryson Tiller, Ocean exerts a smooth demeanor throughout the album that only hints at his personal touch of genius.
The multilayered writing on the album is the strongest attribute Ocean provides on "Blonde." He never alludes to what he is actually saying, rather a layered concept within each song that places him in the class of all time great writers such as Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Prince.
Songs such as “Nikes” point to the actual shoes and also the materialistic vultures that have found him since, even commenting on Black Lives Matter and the threat of death saying “R-I-P Trayvon, that ***** look just like me.” “Solo” deals with Ocean wanting to be solo in his endeavors and being so low that he is depressed.
Ocean is as experimental as ever on "Blonde", somehow managing to progress from "Channel Orange" without alienating his ever-growing fans that found him through his debut.
Duality, contradiction and love in the midst of chaos is at the core of "Blonde." Ocean not only delivered one of, if not the best album of 2016, but he re-established a dying field of adept songwriting and taking time with music. The result? A masterpiece.
