Following a four year hiatus, in 2016 Frank Ocean made his highly anticipated return. Frank Ocean would release two albums within two days of one another. These albums would both be follow-ups to Channel Orange, the Grammy winning alternative R&B album released in July of 2012. Sonically, this album was very grand in its presence. The album as a whole was very story driven and created a universe that could only be imagined by the listener who followed the melodies and listened Frank's imagery. Channel Orange was a rather board album with something that could appeal to even the most average R&B listener and even had radio appeal.
With Ocean's return in 2016 his sound would shift completely. From a once grand and monumental presentation to a minimalist sound that hides its's beauties within the tiniest idiosyncrasies. This sound appealed to a considerably smaller audience but its beauty resonated on a much deeper level this time around. Endless, the first of the two albums Ocean released in 2016 is a very technically made album. Sitting just under 40 mins, Endless gives a full range of emotions to be experienced. Starting off with a Isley Brothers cover of At Your Best (You Are Love), this album is notably different from Channel Orange. The technical and at times glitchy sound of Endless allows for a completely different artistic approach for Ocean. This time around Ocean take a rather brash approach to storytelling, bluntly gives takes on experiences with deception and munipulation from past lovers. Ocean's story telling still revolved around relationships, but this time around its a much more raw and unfiltered experience.
I love him music, I'm so happy he made his come back
ReplyDelete