1/2/2023 0 Comments Blonde frank ocean album colorOcean’s return came in fits and starts, with release plans hinted at, then abandoned. For Beyoncé, the sudden drop of “Lemonade” underscored her militaristic precision for Kanye West, the ever-changing album “The Life of Pablo” reflected his artistic restlessness for Rihanna, the stumbled rollout of “Anti” matched her confident indifference.įrom a distance, Mr. In 2016, the condition and circumstances of an album’s release are integral to its reception. (A list of album collaborators appears in the magazine, but full writing and production credits were not immediately made available.) Yet at the same time, Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar are here, in largely ceremonial roles. ![]() Ocean’s) to a son a story narrated by the French producer Sebastian about the paranoia of the digital age and a kinetic, speed-racer verse from André 3000 on “Solo (Reprise)” that swallows all the air around it. It includes a scolding voice mail from a mother (possibly Mr. “Blonde” is also not precious about the sanctity of Mr. Listen to some of the best new recordings here. Classical Music: 2021 was a year of reawakening for the art form.Jazz Albums: Even the big-statement albums this year had a feeling of intense closeness.Pop Albums: Recordings with big feelings and room for catharsis made the most powerful connections.Best Songs: A posthumous political statement and a superstar’s 10-minute redo are among the 66 best tracks of 2021.So often on this album, he’s pleading for recognition: “I’ll sleep between y’all, it’s nothing” (“Self Control”), “I’m not him but I’ll mean something to you” (“Nikes”).įrom Lil Nas X to Mozart to Esperanza Spalding here is what we loved listening to this year. He excels on the ecstatically relaxed “Pink + White” and the mildly doo-wop-influenced “Self Control.” On the puppyish “Solo,” he’s as close to content as he gets here mostly, he labors over romantic scenarios that leave him vexed, or worse. “Blonde” and “Endless” show someone willing to forsake that progress in service of perfecting a mood. Ocean’s previous projects - the 2011 mixtape “Nostalgia, Ultra” and the 2012 album “Channel Orange” - were products of an intuitive songwriter and a singer just getting comfortable with the outer boundaries of his power. That’s reflected in the range of vocal approaches he takes on “Blonde”: heavy-sigh exhalation, digitally manipulated childlike singing, forceful spoken word, sleepy-eyed rapping, obscured conversation. Ocean writes impressionistically, and sings with a casual sternness, as if sauntering into the studio, smearing out an idea running through his head, then retreating. Ocean building a staircase, came first, the pairing of “Blonde” and Boys Don’t Cry captures the range of Mr. Though “Endless,” with its meaningfully slow 45-minute video of Mr. ![]() ![]() Since Thursday, he has released, in effect, two new albums - “Blonde” and a “visual album” called “Endless,” both exclusive to Apple Music - a video for the song “Nikes,” and an oversize art magazine, Boys Don’t Cry, which includes a CD version of “Blonde” and was made available free at pop-up shops in four cities. Ocean has now swapped scarcity for abundance. Lest you mistake the silence of creative gestation for the silence of lethargy, Mr. Silence may not be Frank Ocean’s greatest gift, but it’s one the R&B singer has wielded effectively for most of the four years since his last album, “Channel Orange.” The reactions to his evaporation from public life have been most intriguing to watch - his denial has been seen as a necessary balm against the scrutiny of fame, and then, after a while, a sort of insult, and finally, in the run-up to his just-released projects, a possible sign of failure on the horizon. In this time of relentlessness and ubiquity, there is no art more potent, or shocking, than the art of disappearance.
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