Waiting is hard, especially if you’re a Frank Ocean fan who has been eagerly awaiting for his follow-up to the critically acclaimed album Channel Orange.
To say that Ocean’s new album is heavily anticipated by the children of the internet is an understatement. But here is an artist who will take his time in creating something out of his soul and as fans of his music, it is important to understand that time is a crucial part of his process. Even if it takes him a long time to create his album, all that needs to be done is to wait.
But who could just sit there patiently and go on with their dreary lives when a singer-songwriter of Ocean’s caliber has showed the world how it feels like to long for love, to look back on life even at a young age, and make melancholia sound like it should be accompanied by an illegal substance to get the full effect? His ability to control the fluidity of this generation’s ideals about the world into stories is amazing.
In ‘Facebook Story’, it talks about how important it is for the internet generation to legitimize their relationship through their social media connections. On the surface it looks silly, but it’s a stark reality of where we are when it comes to making human connections. ‘Nights’ is a simple song about; you guessed it, the night. But that notion goes away as the song starts to shift and makes you feel the emotions that come with the night time; the longingness, the need to break away, to take on the darkness of the night and run away with it. ‘Nikes’, the only politically charged song in the whole album talks about police brutality and the modern day injustice against the black community. The song itself doesn’t register as something that would talk about a serious issue. It’s mellowed, almost sad, like anger has passed and this is where it is, but the intensity is as heavy as an angry political march.
Compared to Channel Orange, this album is less slick and less put together. But what it lacks in form, it greatly makes up for the emotional connection that it makes. Channel Orange is Frank Ocean looking at the outside and seeing the world, in Blond(e), he’s looking inward taking us along with it. He shows us what kept him busy these past years, and with heavy emotions that swirl in his album, we happily dive.
———————
For the latest updates on Music News, Gig Skeds and Concerts, follow GigsManila on Facebook at GigsManila, Twitter @GigsManila and IG @GigsmanilaPH
