Frank Ocean Re-emerges

Since first hearing about Frank Ocean getting back in the studio in 2013, I, just as many other fans, have been anticipating his crawling out from under that rock he retired to after channel ORANGE. I looked forward to him gracing the world with more evocative tracks from his inspired soul. At first I was patient, because I understand that art takes time. But after a handful of pushed release dates continuously giving false hope, I began praying that that channel ORANGE money would run out quickly (he wanted to be petty, well I had to play the game too).

Well, no longer must I be petty, Frank.

Although the visual album Endless is not the album that we are waiting for, it gives an excellent initial glimpse into what Ocean has been working on and serves as a precursor for the album that Rolling Stone has confirmed is to be dropped this weekend.

Now, let’s talk about the visual album. Because it is Frank Ocean we are talking about, the average listener goes into this knowing that it will begin as a euphoric experience and end as one having had a reflective encounter with their inner-self (okay, I may be romanticizing Ocean a little). I’m not going to say that this wasn’t my experience watching and listening to Endless. I did not realize how badly I needed Ocean’s falsetto back in my life while listening to “(At Your Best) You Are Love,” and not to mention, I love a good cover. The interludes showcase Ocean’s ability as a producer as well as an artist.  The surreal combination of vocals in songs like “Wither” and “In Here Somewhere” are as Frank Ocean as it gets.  And the closer, “Higgs,” is one of the best closing tracks to an album that I’ve heard in a long time.

Despite this, I have to add frustration to my mix of emotions as well. For one, although every track was a masterpiece on its own, there was an intentional lack of flow which was slightly disconcerting. This was emphasized by contrast of the visual remaining in a neutral black and white and never escalating to the point that the accompanying music would at certain moments.

Also, did anyone actually care what he was building? I found myself frustrated because I personally was not concerned about the project he was completing in the film, but I was compelled to watch anyways. At the same time, the viewer who did care about what he was building would experience similar frustration from the fact that they didn’t know what the finished project was going to be. Towards the end, although it is revealed that he was building a staircase, it vanishes before he can reach the last step and we visually find ourselves back at the beginning of the film while the rest of “Higgs” plays. What?

Lizzie Plaugic brilliantly calls this an analogy for being a Frank Ocean fan. This does explain the importance of that missing last step, but at this point of the film, I did not feel frustrated as much as I felt confused. That being said, I did love the fact the visual restarted but the soundtrack continued on. I enjoyed witnessing a scene I had already witnessed thirty minutes prior from a new perspective just based on the audio. It had me thinking, is everything just arbitrary? Did the staircase really matter? Did the process of building the staircase matter?

So I was right, I did end up having a reflective encounter with my inner self. Endless may not be what we expected, but that’s on us. Ocean had obviously taken that eon of time to perfect his already untouchable artistry, and it’s an exciting feeling knowing that this is only the beginning.