Frank Ocean - blond ALBUM REVIEW
I’ve been following Frank Ocean’s music for a long time now, and his music has never failed to disappoint me. What had me fall in love with Ocean’s music, particularly his 2012 project Channel ORANGE, was that it felt like I was relating to something that I had never experienced yet: love and everything that came with it. I was so curious to know when his follow-up album would be out, and so was the rest of the world. I even had set up a system on my phone to get a text saying when Frank’s album would be released. Then, we got two albums. The first, the ambient pop album Endless (I have the collectible vinyl for it), was somewhat of a letdown for Frank fans, although there’s nothing bad about it. I personally think it’s aged like fine wine since 2016. The second album, which I’ll talk about here, was the main event. blond was the follow-up to Channel ORANGE that everyone was waiting for. It’s been four years since blond’s release, so has it held up since then? I think it has.
blond is a mix of many different genres from R&B and psychedelic pop to everything else in between. Each track has its own vibe, and I can commend blond for the creativity. “Ivy” is a beautiful indie-adjacent guitar ballad, “Pink + White” is a tropical Beyoncé-assisted bop, and “Nights” is blends R&B and soul into a conventional yet powerful track. But the true standout, and undoubtedly the most beautiful track here, is “Self Control.” This ballad with Austin Feinstein-guitar work about an unraveling relationship is devastating to listen to, but the writing on this cut is absolutely stunning. Also, there is the pure beauty of “Godspeed.” I can’t put into words how beautiful this sounds, so I want you to listen to it instead.
There is one major flaw with blond to me, though. As much as people hype this album up, I just do not see how it is the best album of the century. Yes, many publications have made this claim, but in my mind, there were other albums that had more of an impact on me and my taste in music that I hold in my heart better than blond. I absolutely wouldn’t change anything about blond stylistically or writing style, but saying that blond was a formative time in my sexual life shouldn’t be on your dating profile.
It’s easily said that blond is a beautiful project. It flows well, the writing is good, and most of the songs are good at the least. But most music connections are made through relationships. I just didn’t relate to this album, as hard as it tried to. I heavily encourage you to listen to blond, but it’s nowhere near the best album of the century.
8/10
Stream blond here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
blond is a mix of many different genres from R&B and psychedelic pop to everything else in between. Each track has its own vibe, and I can commend blond for the creativity. “Ivy” is a beautiful indie-adjacent guitar ballad, “Pink + White” is a tropical Beyoncé-assisted bop, and “Nights” is blends R&B and soul into a conventional yet powerful track. But the true standout, and undoubtedly the most beautiful track here, is “Self Control.” This ballad with Austin Feinstein-guitar work about an unraveling relationship is devastating to listen to, but the writing on this cut is absolutely stunning. Also, there is the pure beauty of “Godspeed.” I can’t put into words how beautiful this sounds, so I want you to listen to it instead.
There is one major flaw with blond to me, though. As much as people hype this album up, I just do not see how it is the best album of the century. Yes, many publications have made this claim, but in my mind, there were other albums that had more of an impact on me and my taste in music that I hold in my heart better than blond. I absolutely wouldn’t change anything about blond stylistically or writing style, but saying that blond was a formative time in my sexual life shouldn’t be on your dating profile.
It’s easily said that blond is a beautiful project. It flows well, the writing is good, and most of the songs are good at the least. But most music connections are made through relationships. I just didn’t relate to this album, as hard as it tried to. I heavily encourage you to listen to blond, but it’s nowhere near the best album of the century.
8/10
Stream blond here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
About that 'impactful albums' thing, I might post a loosie where I list off meaningful albums to me.
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