1. "Nikes" Love the fuck outta "Nikes". I was worried I had found a sketchy-ass untrustworthy version of this when greeted with Franklin and the Chipmunks for 3 minutes but, I quickly realized that the instrumental sounded 100% normal. The lyrics are the story here and the production is just added artistic bonuses.
2. "Ivy" With Rostam of V. Weekend fame and Jamie xx as producers, I had higher expectations for "Ivy". Frank's voice is off right now... Oh shit, Voice alteration curveball <3.
3. "Pink + White" Pharrell and Tyler produced this... It is solid.
4. "Be Yourself" After this pep-talk from Frank's mother, I am convinced that the devil's lettuce is nothing to mess with. Good thing I've dodged it to this point in my life. #Blessed
5. "Solo" Hit me with more church organ and you've got yourself a guaranteed B song grade or higher. I have no idea what the fuck is going on in the background as it sounds like an entirely unrelated hip-hop song is playing. HOW IS TODD RUNDGREN CREDITED ON THIS SONG? What am I missing? This was an experience. Weird. Wait, is this J. Cole?
6. "Skyline To" Oh my god, no. I had accidentally opened up YG's "Still Brazy in another window". I am so disappointed in myself, this review was a terrible idea. I have failed you.
Ok, about song #6 (Skyline To)... Frank is touching on his rap beginnings but, continues to refuse to go back there as of yet. Tyler's Erykah Badu-inspired production is still a strength even after a two year-absence from my headphones. Did Kendrick write Frank's spoken verses or was there a slight drop of a sample from a Kendrick Lamar song? He is credited here, leading to more confusion on my part.
7. "Self Control" There's really no drums on this album whatsoever and I don't mind it. Maybe his other project "Endless" has more drums and features on it, I have more questions than answers about Frank Ocean's music seven songs into this trip. Dude seriously enjoys experimenting with the higher-pitch voice automation on this album. I know very little about Yung Lean but, apparently I should be listening to him afterwards after reading his Wiki page. This is chill as fuck and I dig it so much at this late hour.
8. "Good Guy" Short skits and cutting in along with cutting out are a common theme in Frank's albums but, I really wish this were longer.
9. "Nights" The repetitive instrumental is fine but... oh okay, just change the tempo in the middle of me typing my sentence, no big deal. "On my kumbaya shit". This sounds... Bon Iver-ish. That would be a dream combo in every way musically imaginable. This is 3 songs in 1 over 5 minutes. "Pyramids" did it much better with just 2 in 1 over 9 minutes.
10. "Solo (Reprise)" Andre 3000's only musical relevance nowadays is showing up on a Frank project once every 4 years. That's not a bad thing but damn, does the music community miss him.
11. "Pretty Sweet" Some trippy Beatles "I Am The Walrus" shit is happening here. Now it turned into a driving tune with a fast-paced guitar. Now there's a children's choir that's kind of distorted. What the fuck is this album?
12. "Facebook Story" Some french musician named Sebastian is now talking about not accepting a woman's friend request on Facebook. I know that I say this about every album I insta-review like this but, this is going to require more listens in order for me to know what the fuck is going on and why I haven't heard Frank in like... 3 tracks.
13. "Close To You" Distorted Frank returns! The Francis and the Lights influence is clearly all over this track. I wish it were longer but, that's a basic summary of this entire album up to this point. Every track has come and gone, memorable but not terribly interesting upon first listen.
14. "White Ferrari" The long-rumored James Blake collaboration is real! I'd just like to shout out a dude named Zak that I used to know who told me about James Blake right after Bon Iver, Bon Iver dropped. Blake has one of the best albums out this year (more on that in December) and any time he has anything to do with a song and I discover that mid-song, that moment of realization catapults that song from a C-grade to a higher level for me in the moment. He's that good.
15. "Siegfried" "Blonde" feels like it's about to close on a pretty strong note despite staying with the chill, drumless vibe throughout the full 60-minute run. This song is the best track so far and is the easiest to zone out on, a true goal that every artist should make a song aiming to achieve. Sampling "Flying" by The Beatles is a bold strategy and it has paid off brilliantly.
16. "Godspeed" I have no idea how in the world the Grammy's are going to decide who gets Album of the Year nominations this year (other than David Bowie's "Blackstar" will absolutely receive a nomination and will win) with all of these exclusive releases and uproar caused by social media-imploding albums like Lemonade, The Life of Pablo, A Moon Shaped Pool, Views, Coloring Book, both Frank projects and so much other good shit to sort through. We are truly in the golden era of music...
Did I forget to review that track? I'm sorry. It wasn't very noteworthy to me. *gives you a moment to cringe at my not recognizing Frank's hidden genius on track #16 of a seemingly throw-shit-at-a-wall-and-see-what-sticks album*
17. "Futura Free" This song is 9-minutes long so, I'm expecting something epic and memorable. It is off to a fantastic start. The epic intro cut back into a heavily-autotuned Frank singing over another piano. As much as I like the distortion and experimenting with music, I don't think something as pure as Frank Ocean's voice should be fucked with this often on an hour-long album, you know what I mean? After a solid 30-45 seconds of silence, another part of this song seems to be beginning. Right now it just sounds like a shittily recorded AMA between a random Youtuber and some people just trying to enjoy their coffee. Man, this song is not at all what I thought this was going to be yet. (3 minutes later) man, this better not be the entire rest of the song or I might have my entire opinion about this album jaded by a fucking terrible outro. Update: That was it. What the fuck right now?
END RESULT: I'm a man who enjoys himself some slow-burning albums that take time to grow on the listener but, after the first few tracks, this gets really shaky really quick. I want to love it but, the pureness that was Frank's voice on every prior release is just way too noticeably absent from this album. I respect his willingness to spread his artistic wings and fly with whatever the fuck it is he's trying to do here but nuh uh, I am not having it. This is an MTV unplugged album gone horribly wrong.
Final Grade: D+ (obviously open to change if the album grows on me)
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| Pictured here: Frank Ocean facepalming to the most frustrating album of 2016. |
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