"Two years ago I found an image of a kid with her hands covering her face," the artist wrote in an essay posted on his Tumblr the day this weekend the album, four years in the making, finally became available." A seatbelt reached across her torso, riding up her neck and a mop of blonde hair stayed swept, for the moment, behind her ears. cover art spelling situation, we're calling it Blonde throughout.)Īnn Powers: When he began to put himself into the mind-frame that would inspire his new album Blonde, Frank Ocean imagined himself in a moving car. And without clarity regarding the whole listing vs. (Ann Powers and Jason King write about both the physical and digital versions of the album interchangeably. We find it impossible and personally limiting to consider this album outside of its context, so the below is as much a state of affairs as it is a straight-ahead review. They did so across many time zones and man hours what emerged is a conversation that stays fair-minded and grounded and ends in questioning both the artist and his audience. Over the weekend we asked Ann Powers and Jason King to wrestle with Frank Ocean's long-awaited follow-up to 2012's Channel Orange. Ocean credits artists like Beyonce, The Beatles, Kanye West and many more to his album.įrom years with no sign of Frank Ocean to an album, a visual album entitled “Endless” and a new video for his song “Nikes,” Ocean runs with an overwhelming element of surprise and this album won’t disappoint.Ĭarly Plemons can be reached at or on Twitter.Frank Ocean's raw, bleeding, diaristic storytelling guides Blonde. The album’s versatility ranged from interviews within songs, acoustic harmonies and entrancing lyrics that make the listener want to travel to another time: a more evolved Frank Ocean. Since those who don’t have Apple Music can’t listen to the album, the range of listeners is limited creating an overwhelming sense of selectiveness and mystery that Ocean already had associated with him. There seemed to be mixed emotions that most people who listened to the album felt. He’s unfazed by it, he’s not even paying attention,” said Nunez. “I think the album symbolized him just kind of doing his own thing in his own space and the world is just tuned in now because everyone’s interested. In contrast, “Blonde” was astonishing from start to finish even the way he released the album caught Ocean fans off guard. Nunez felt like “Channel Orange” encompassed songs that were sort of expected and started the same way they would end. “It kind of just takes you on a really vivid journey in every song.” “Every song almost feels like it has another song inside of it,” junior criminal justice major, Jose Nunez said. With a four year gap from “Channel Orange” to “Blonde,” this evolution is something to be expected. For example, the songs “White Ferrari” and “Godspeed” are great illustrations of this. The music illustrates a new, more evolved sound of Ocean that most aren’t accustomed to. The album almost feels as though the listener is reading a journal or diary written by Frank Ocean yearning for what once was. Ocean’s newest and most awaited release has a mix of nostalgic, yet futuristic sound. Photo credit: Carly PlemonsĪfter four years of anticipation and lost hopes, Frank Ocean’s newest masterpiece, “Blonde,” dove into the hearts of its listeners or at least of those who could listen to it due to its exclusivity on Apple Music. Screenshot of Frank Ocean’s song “White Ferrari”.
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