Frank Ocean - Blond

    

Overview
Frank Ocean is an indie rnb singer from Long Beach California. Although he had ghost written for several mainstream artists, he was in the background until the advent of Odd Future's success. His music was original enough to associate with their clan but it was very formal and classy in contrast to their rebellion angle. Nevertheless, he established himself with a skater filled audience. The biggest change from his first release, "Channel Orange" is he's a lot more confident. You can tell that he's had a lot of experiences and has spent a lot of time with some very cool people. The title blond, fits as the evolution of his previous title and the songs do the name justice. The album is very elegant. There's lots of professional instrumentation, the lyrics are interesting and meaningful, and the vocals are soulful. One surprise is that the falsetto of his biggest song, "Thinking Bout You" isn't pushed in any of the songs. Although the album is very good, none of the songs seem meant to stand alone.
Defining Track
The first song, Nikes is about not being in love for the right reasons. There's pitch altering and the beat is very slow and spacial. He makes a few jokes and tells a bit of a story. It's not all that cohesive, but it's entertaining. There's a few drug references and like most of the other songs, it's very easy to imagine listening to it under the influence (not a suggestion though).
Final Thoughts
The album is a little somber like "Channel Orange." It's probably the first fully sung rnb album to have so little to do with relationships. Frank Ocean has a nice voice but he isn't really pushing it in any of these songs. As a whole the album is wonderful but individually, none of the songs compare to "Thinkin Bout You" or even "Pyramids." With all that said, Frank's back!

Rap Independent
Frank Ocean - Blond
9/10

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Overview
Frank Ocean is an R&b artist from Long Beach California who gained notoriety in the wake of Odd Future's ascent to stardom. Although their style as a collective focuses heavily on attention grabbing content, Frank Ocean's Channel Orange is anything but attention seeking. That isn't to say that it's non-eventful. It is merely to say that the tracks on this release are meant to have a Jazz vibe instead of the rebellious heavy energy of some of the Odd Future releases. Channel Orange begins with a sample from a video game console and this sheds light on one of the nicest aspects of this album. It's free from influence. In addition to being self-released prior to record label involvement, Frank Ocean goes out of his way to reference anime, drugs, and several other highly venturous themes. This is by far one of the deepest sung releases to emerge in a long time.
Defining Track
"Thinkin Bout You" is the most noteworthy track and tells a lot of the story behind this album. He talks about his first romantic experience as he's showing off his room. Additionally, there is a nice transition from reminiscing the past to wondering about the future. This only solidifies the point of the song which is, the person he's talking to will hopefully be in his future as well as past. There are a few Prince reflective notes being hit during the chorus, but the majority of the song is done in his typically low octave.
Final Thoughts
It takes a song writer with a collective filled with internet celebrities to pull of releasing an album with this much freedom. Frank Ocean understands that his audience wants something innovative and that his current position allows him to provide it. Hopefully this album will open doors for record labels to be more experimental with their singing artists. Whether or not they do, this is still a phenomenal example of how expressive music should be.

Rap Independent
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
9/10