Blonde by Frank Ocean : an in-depth thread

Likes & RT's appreciated!

The latest of the four full-length projects given to us by one of the most vital voices of the past decade ; over the course of four years it's turned into one of the most revered albums across this site & the general music spectrum,and it's easy to see why.

Frank digs deep into his life experiences and comes out with lyrical and instrumental gems ; very few right now can express themselves in such a subtle yet deep manner.

While there are sharply focused, high-quality tracks all across this thing,the album as a whole is languid,low-key and not fully organised. This may turn off a lot of those looking for some instrumental complexity,but to me this even layered and profound than Channel Orange.

Even over the most minimal of instrumentals Frank stacks some of his best lyrical ideas which makes the album very engaging, and the songs provide the same kind of comfort as,say,a really soft couch or a hug from someone you love.

Still,there's also some pain on this project, particularly Self Control,the second-best track here imo. The outro is one of the most beautiful musical moments of the entire decade,you could play that over and over for an hour.

While I do admit I skip over Be Yourself,the other interlude cuts on this thing are quite candid and endearing (particularly Facebook Story) and don't take away from the album's flow as much as I've heard some suggest.

Nights --> Pretty Sweet is an incredible jolt to the senses ; too much percussion-free sadness would've been tiring eventually. People can't talk enough about the famous Nights beat switch but I like the freakiness of Pretty Sweet even more to be honest.

Ultimately,the beautiful,minimal instrumentals are my favorite thing about the album ; Solo & Pink + White are both two of my favourite songs of all time. His vocal performances are brilliant,there's no exception to that anywhere on this album.

I think the cover really ties into the minimalism of the album ; it's all very naked for lack of a better word. There's not much to unpack and it's really,really easy to like and listen to. Not to say that you can play it anytime but when you do it's really intimate.

It's really why I play Blonde more than my most favourite albums ; there's such a openness to it opposite to the mysterious nature of its creator. Life's gotten worse and I do have people who care but when I need to patch my wounds myself it's music like this that helps.

What else is there to say. I hope Frank drops,but really what we've got right now is also quite enough atleast for me.

End thread and like I said,likes & RT's appreciated.