Endless frank ocean full album full#

Who knows with this most mysterious and intriguing of artists? All we can say for sure is that there are rumours that an image of OceanвЂ™s face is gradually being projected on to the John Lewis store in Peterborough, along with a countdown clock to a date in March 2018, when etc etc etc.ItвЂ™s been over two years since Frank Ocean dropped two albums at the same time.

Endless frank ocean full album full#

But surely the whole point of Frank Ocean is that he likes to confound, and this really does feel like a brilliantly confounding, unique piece of work.ДЄnd besides, the full pop Frank will undoubtedly be unveiled when whatever Boys DonвЂ™t Cry is now called emerges. You might wonder at times вЂ“ perhaps as beats flicker by and Ocean starts sanding down a particularly rough piece of wood вЂ“ what on earth is going on. Endless feels like an artistic statement before a pop album, even if itвЂ™s ultimately an impressive merging of the two. If youвЂ™re expecting a conveyor belt line of hits, then you will be somewhat disappointed as much of this album floats by hazily and with no clear direction. Of course, your view of Endless may well depend on how you approach it. (Hardcore Frankophiles will have heard a slightly different version in a 2015 tribute to Aaliyah.) The influence of James Blake, Sampha and Jonny Greenwood would have been heavily present here even if those artists hadnвЂ™t appeared on Endless. As Ocean gets busy with a circular saw (those stairs wonвЂ™t build themselves, you know), the track embodies the merging of R&B and sadboy electronica thatвЂ™s been developing ever since Ocean first emerged. You realise how much youвЂ™ve missed that devastating falsetto the second it hovers into view on a cover of the Isley BrothersвЂ™ 1976 hit At Your Best (You Are Love). In fact, soulful melody is in no short supply throughout Endless, and OceanвЂ™s voice ensures itвЂ™s delivered more passionately than any other mainstream pop star is managing right now. Not your average pop star вЂ¦ a still from Frank OceanвЂ™s Boys DonвЂ™t Cry stream. ThatвЂ™s certainly the case on Alabama, but that shouldnвЂ™t discount the fact it also features SamphaвЂ™s gorgeously plaintive question: вЂњWhat can I do to love you more than I do now?вЂќ ItвЂ™s just that these tracks have the tendency to dissolve into cut-up voices, or pitch shifts, or electronic bleeps. There are clearly songs here, as proved by the swooning synth lines on Commes Des GarГ§ons, or the reggae-tinged Slide On Me, staged over a skittering rhythm and acoustic guitar. It must have thrilled the execs at Apple Music.Д®ndless feels like an artistic statement before a pop album, even if itвЂ™s ultimately an impressive merging of the twoД«ut the idea that this is a singularly avant-garde statement would be wide of the mark. Strangest of all is the final track, Higgs, which seems to be a spoken-word advert for a Samsung Galaxy phone, read aloud by German artist Wolfgang Tillmans over pulsing electronica. Song structures are often free-form, especially through the second half of the record, where the point at which one song ends and another begins is difficult to keep track of. There are computerised voices (arty curtain-raiser Device Control), hazy electronic shimmers (In Here Somewhere) and the odd snippet of conversation littered across Endless, the latter providing a pleasingly lo-fi counterbalance to what is overall a rather futuristic and lush aesthetic (the London Contemporary Orchestra provide a variety of sumptuous strings). They also double up as palette-cleansers throughout what is a rich, varied and вЂ“ at times вЂ“ challenging musical feast.Д«ecause Endless isnвЂ™t always an easy listen. And it really does drift, with brief instrumentals such as Ambience 001: In a Certain Way and the Daft Punk-sampling Hublots acting as segues. We see him building a spiral staircase in his warehouse, while rocking various outfits вЂ“ from an impressively baggy Jesus and Mary Chain sweater to a protective suit вЂ“ as the music drifts by. To answer the second question, the 18 tracks here have been released as one long video in which Ocean appears to get back on the home improvements game. So what, I hear you ask вЂ“ perhaps with a slightly less patient tone than before вЂ“ is Endless like? And what the bloody hell is a вЂњvisual albumвЂќ? Apparently, it is one big teaser вЂ“ the teaser to end all teasers, if you will вЂ“ before the real thing, with a brand-new title, arrives this weekend. Instead itвЂ™s billed as a вЂњvisual albumвЂќ called Endless. Because Frank Ocean being Frank Ocean, the album he has put out isnвЂ™t Boys DonвЂ™t Cry. And so, after all the delays and rumours and teasers and the DIY-themed live streams, Frank OceanвЂ™s new album is finally here! What, I hear you ask, is Boys DonвЂ™t Cry actually like?Д®rm, we donвЂ™t really know.