After four years of relative anonymity Frank Ocean has returned with his second studio album Blonde, the follow up to 2012’s critically acclaimed Channel Orange. With four years away from the spotlight and no real signs of music on the horizon, it was hard to gauge what a new Frank Ocean album would sound like, and what kind of space he was in as an artist and life in general. What Frank delivers with Blonde is a more subdued album than Channel Orange production wise but a much more personal effort. There aren’t any major radio singles on Blonde like there were on Channel Orange with “Thinkin Bout You,” or even infectious songs like “Novacane,” off of Nostalgia, Ultra. But Blonde is a more vulnerable effort from an artist who we already perceived to be as pretty vulnerable and it makes for one of the best albums to release in 2016, regardless of the genre.
On “Nights,” Ocean recalls on a relationship he had with an old lover while being homeless in Houston following Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans. His songwriting is as sharp as ever here, detailing the daily and nightly struggle of grinding while avoiding the bouts of sadness and depression that may come with a life of ruins and less fulfilling. “Nikes,” may be one of the most well written and all-encompassing songs of the year, with Ocean touching on everything from consumerism to relationships between the opposite sex. Lines such as “Pour up for ASAP (Yams), RIP Pimp C, RIP Trayvon, that nigga looks just like me,” show him paying respects to three different people from three different walks of life but all representing something important to him, with him referencing Barack Obama saying if he had a son he would look like Trayvon. This is Ocean’s true skill, managing to bring a bunch of different topics, usually those in juxtaposition, and bring them to a common ground while relating them to himself. It’s his greatest skill as a songwriter. On “Self Control,” he states to his lover that “I came to visit cause you see me like a UFO,” which is ironic because the same can be said by his fans and music consumers. But it’s this level of honesty and unexpectedness that draws people to Ocean.
The list of contributors on the album may look like a who’s who of stars in music right now but their contributions are hardly noticeable within the songs they appear on. Beyonce provides background vocals on “Pink + White.” The same goes for Kendrick Lamar, who is barely even noticeable on “Skyline To.” The most memorable guest appearance on the album comes from Andre 3000, another artist who lives in virtual seclusion, on “Solo Reprise” where his whit and eclectic style shine through to deliver one of the best verses of 2016 and standout moments on Blonde.
For an artist as talented and introspective as Ocean, he doesn’t necessarily touch on everyday issues or social commentary in the same ways as collaborators Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar. But on Blonde he still manages to draw from past experiences with his sexuality and ambiguity to tell his own story. On the first couple of listens Blonde can sound like an incomplete project lacking real direction, but that may be what makes it so great. It’s a bunch of stories about one man and his life, opening up more than he has in the past, and that is saying something considering his past. His scattered thoughts make for the most interesting album of the year, and if we don’t hear from Ocean again for another four years Blonde proves that it will be well worth the wait.
Kameron Hay 