Acclaimed for its non-conformist song construction and bravura psychedelic blend of soul, jazz and electro, it none the less packed a pop punch this follow-up album conspicuously lacks.įour years in the making, released under two names (Blond on a free limited edition CD given away in pop-up stores and Blonde on Apple Music stream) with two different track sequences (and that’s without counting the 18 tracks of offcuts released last Friday as arty black and white long form video Endless), Ocean’s second album is so laden with quirkiness you may end up wishing he was a little less prodigiously talented and a little more focussed.įrom the narcoleptic disorientation of dreamy opening track Nikes, to the whimsy of Pink + White (with ecstatically wordless harmonies from Beyoncé), via the shimmering downbeat acoustica of Ivy, Blonde makes for sensationally beautiful background music that can morph into a bizarre hodgepodge of disparate ideas when you concentrate on bringing it into the foreground. Ocean’s languid, seductive singing (playfully reshaped with Varispeed and Autotune effects) and the luxurious breadth of his harmonic gifts can sometimes distract from just how experimentally convoluted his sense of song construction really is. When you think about it, four years isn’t that long a period between albums. by John Murphy published: in Album Reviews. Ocean has already proven himself as more than just a pretty voice. Its been months since Ocean released the project, but it hasnt lost its luster. Part of Ocean’s appeal comes from the unknowable, untouchable shroud he has created around himself. 29, his live show dates for his sophomore album, Blonde, which will be his first shows in 3 years. Here he mixed so much R&B with samples, for example, of Strawberry Swing by Coldplay, giving a very Kanye mix, destroying the brand that the singers of that genre were having. Album Review: Frank Ocean - Blonde When Frank Ocean provided vocals on Tyler, the Creator’s She, a weird track about a guy dealing with his new girlfriend’s stalker, I never thought that the owner of those silky-smooth tones would go on to be the undisputed king of avant-garde R&B.

The allure of famous associates drew attention to his shapeshifting debut album, Channel Orange, which reached number 2 in the US and UK in 2012 and topped many critical lists. Frank Ocean Blonde (Boys Dont Cry) UK release date: 20 August 2016. Frank Ocean became known thanks to his mixtape Nostalgia ultra, a primitive version of Blonde, and his appearance in the Odd future collective, but where he really stood out was in this mixtape.

Blonde frank ocean album review