Frank Ocean - Blond

Frank Ocean
Blond
2016
Spotify

The idea of Blond was much bigger than any album could have lived up to. Channel Orange was vast in it's influences and delivery but on Blond Frank drills things down to their purest essence. It almost sounds like it could have been made in a bedroom even though it is much much better than that. So much of the record sounds like Frank Ocean really getting out the emotions locked in his head that the long run up to the album seems all the more necessary. He needed that time to really process all the shit swirling around in his brain and get it to some kind of concise message and that He certainly He has done. His ideas of a massive open heart, dealing with loss and current state of the world populate all the themes on Blond, but the thoughts are timeless everything we deal with. This is the most evident on "Solo" where Ocean tries to come to terms with drugs, loss and loneliness only to realize that it all might not be ok in the end, but even that's ok. "Skyline To" however flips that and instead croons about California Summers and sex rarely even using a durm down beat to set the temp. The driving force on the entire album is Frank's voice, when it comes in the song changes and becomes something better than it ever could have been on it's own.

What is really the greatest about Blond however besides it lyrical content is the good feeling it gives you when you listen. "Self Control" is just Frank and electric guitar which is so classic and so comfortable that you find yourself slipping in to the sound just melting in to it's goodness. The ease that each note comes from Ocean's mouth is simply marvelous. The only real feature on the record comes from Andre 3000 on "Solo (reprise)" and it will only make you mad that Andre is not still making hip hop like he used to. The verse is absolutely a masterclass from someone who has been in the hip hop game for over 20 years, and his cut down of rappers who use ghost writers is just fantastic. The only problem with the track is there is just not enough of it. Some of the production could have been done a bit better if we are perfectly honest with ourselves, but as it is now feels so right and so directly made for this album that any change might just sink the whole ship. Nostalgia has always been Frank's strong suit and making people feel like they remember his music even when hearing it for the first time, and that is what you leave Blond with. It is an album that feels like it has always been in our lives, and always been an important part. No doubt going forward Blond will be the memory it tries to be.

9.1 out of 10