Frank Ocean - Blonde

Rating:

No gimmicks, no massive production. Just beautiful songs with depth, feeling and passion.

Blonde’ is the centrepiece of Frank Ocean’s multi-media high concept album release spanning 3 years of speculation and anticipation. As a main event though it’s understated and intimate. Less of a triumphant grand statement it’s more of an intimate portrait of Frank Ocean the artist and Frank Ocean the man himself.

It’s clear that Frank has poured his heart and his soul into the album. Every lyric, sample and sound bite has been carefully chosen and beautifully worded. The confessional nature of the words and the melodies suits the sparseness and dreaminess of the music. Many of the songs here are draped in a hazy, gauzy splendour. There are no beats, little rhythms and a complete absence of posturing or aggression. It’s a soft and tender whisper rather than a celebratory roar. The tone is set on ‘Ivy’. Here, Frank’s voice is pure and unadorned set against a lone phased electric guitar. It’s hugely simple and wonderfully effective. “I thought that I was dreaming when you said you loved me,” sings Frank and that sort of heartfelt exploration of relationships and desires is key to ‘Blonde’s themes. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

While the words are important there’s much to savour in the low-key yet bewitching music. A song like ‘Pink White’s’ jazzy, summer breeze lilt gains something with each listen. It takes a supreme talent to make a little go a long way.