Matthew’s favorite song: “Pyramids”

Tyler’s favorite song: “Pilot Jones”

Frank Ocean’s debut album, Channel ORANGE, was released on July 10, 2012. Reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart after its debut and its hit single “Thinkin Bout You” rising to number 32 on the Hot 100. Previous songs from his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra brought a lot of acclaim to Frank, such as the hit songs “Novacane” and “Swim Good”. The popularity of these songs motivated Frank to write his album Channel ORANGE.

This is a superb album. Every song in the album is good and catchy, ranging from the slow, vibe filled songs to upbeat, feel good songs. One of those happy songs is “Sweet Life”; this song talks about, quite literally, the sweet life. He tells about what he has in his life and the luxuries, as well as who he is spending it with. One of the aforementioned slow songs is “Bad Religion” in which he professes his religious problems as well as the faults in his life and the guilt he faces from choices throughout his life. It is all lyrically a conversation between him and a nameless taxi driver, in which he gives Frank some religious guidance as Frank confesses his troubles through metaphors and deep concepts. Frank also blatantly sings about loving someone and not being loved back and the hardships that comes with that.  One song that contains a mix of all sounds and vibes is “Pyramids”. This song is an electronic beat that switches tones and the feel multiple times throughout the song. Singing about a girl whom is metaphorically Cleopatra, the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt. This song is a 10 minute ensemble of good beats and the usual great singing of Frank Ocean.

This is an outstanding album with highs, lows, and everything in between. The mix between songs with Frank singing to songs with him and other features rapping gives it a sound for everyone to enjoy. Frank has yet to release any bad albums and we are on our toes for many more to come. We give this album a 5 out of 5. It is available on iTunes and Spotify.