Throughout вЂњBlondeвЂќ Ocean sings about the pain of disappointment - of being let down by a potential romantic partner (вЂњGood GuyвЂќ) or the longed-for experience of celebrity (вЂњNikesвЂќ). Unlike his A-list peers, he doesnвЂ™t seem interested here in statement-making along the lines of BeyonceвЂ™s вЂњFormation,вЂќ where sheвЂ™s slamming down ideas about feminism and black America as furiously (and stylishly) as anyone since Nina Simone. Which doesnвЂ™t mean that what Ocean has to say is perfectly straightforward. Many of the 17 tracks feature OceanвЂ™s sturdy but yearning voice over acoustic or undistorted electric guitar others add keyboards, strings or programmed beats but avoid the layered density that defines virtually everything on the radio - and thatвЂ™s despite a crowded credits list that includes Beyonce, West, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Rubin, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead and the Beatles (from whom Ocean borrows a bit of вЂњHere, There and EverywhereвЂќ at the end of his вЂњWhite FerrariвЂќ).ДЇeverishly anticipated since OceanвЂ™s Grammy-winning вЂњChannel OrangeвЂќ made him a star in 2012, this surprising effort answers breathless hype not with shouts but with one long exhalation. Where those earlier albums seemed to take in as much of pop music as possible - to use every sound and texture at the disposal of todayвЂ™s internet-equipped creator - вЂњBlondeвЂќ is rigorously contained, almost ascetic in its clean-lined minimalism. Push beyond the branding strategy, though, and actually listen to вЂњBlondeвЂќ - which appeared in physical form Saturday at pop-up shops in four cities and can now be streamed or downloaded only through iTunes and Apple Music - and you quickly realize how different the R&B singerвЂ™s project is from вЂњLemonade,вЂќ вЂњAntiвЂќ and вЂњThe Life of Pablo.вЂќ

So much about Frank OceanвЂ™s gripping new album, вЂњBlonde,вЂќ seems to put it in line with recent high-profile records by Beyonce, Rihanna and Kanye West, from its short-notice release to its limited availability to its expansive roster of collaborators.

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