Frank Ocean released his second studio album, Blond, on August 20th, 2016. According to Ocean, the album got its title after seeing a photo of a blonde child while composing the album. This is fitting as the album primarily focuses on Ocean’s struggle with his emotions surrounding youthfulness. The album also includes themes of young love, mortality, and the wave of emotions that affect the average teen.
When listening to the album from start to finish, the listener will be taken on a journey to places/experiences that all humans go through but cannot face. The 14th song on the album, ‘‘White Ferrari,’’ sums up the entire album and is said to be his best song. The song’s lyrics tie to the song’s primary symbolism of purity and innocence. The intimacy between the lead vocalist and the backing percussion-less and smooth instrumentation really portrays the deep feeling of grieving something bittersweet.
Other students at West Lauderdale High School shared their opinions.
Sophomore Ryleigh Turbville voiced her feelings on the album, saying, “When I listen to the album Blond by Frank Ocean, I feel at peace and truly understood. His music brings me comfort and bliss. In the song ‘Ivy’, he talks about a past love, he sings, ‘I thought that I was dreaming when you said you love me.’ I can heavily relate to this verse. As he sings this line, you can feel his raw emotions through the sound of his voice and his tone. There’s comfort in knowing that he cares so much about who and what he loves.”
Kate Smith also adds her view, saying, “[The album creates] a nostalgic, memory lane type feel… basically saying you can look back but you have to keep going on with life.”
The final account comes from sophomore Lily Woodall. She revealed, “Listening to Blond is rejuvenating and almost gospel-like. There is a song for any type of music listener on that album, and most are semi-well-known songs. While most songs are experimental and different from other music he has released beforehand, they are timeless. Blond is an album that can be listened to in the soft early morning, can be screamed on a car ride with friends, or even during hard times.”
Overall, I feel that this album is a beautiful portrayal of the teenage conscious and traveling through adolescence. Ocean’s album gives the listener a captivating look at his childhood years as he reflects on them. The album includes many ballads that focus on the sentiments plaguing anyone going through or reminiscing about their youth.
