Blonde
by
Blonde Image
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 38 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 1317 Ratings

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  • Summary: Just a a day after he released his Visual album Endless, Ocean releases a 17-track album on Apple Music (and a 12-track version at pop-up stores included a Boys Don't Cry artbook/magazine) featuring contributions from Beyonce, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Rick Rubin, and Kanye West.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. The Skinny
    Sep 1, 2016
    100
    Soulful, impeccable production shines on every heartbreak and highlight.
  2. The Guardian
    Aug 22, 2016
    100
    Realign your expectations, and what gradually emerges is a record of enigmatic beauty, intoxicating depth and intense emotion.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    Sep 1, 2016
    90
    Uninterested in zipping from A to B, it is instead a moving, repeatedly devastating depiction of an artist who is still trying to figure out his place in the world as he moves forward in life, ever mindful of what we leave behind, the things said and left unspoken, the good and the bad that comes with trying to make it all make sense and the sobering knowledge that we cannot go back.
  4. PopMatters
    Aug 25, 2016
    80
    While most artists would have drowned under the pressure, hype, anticipation and scale of an album like Blonde, he passes with flying colors, making him not only one of the most unique R&B artists of our time, but also one of the best as well.
  5. Uncut
    Sep 23, 2016
    80
    The sprawling haziness still lingers, but the songs are sharper and studded with guests. [Nov 2016, p.24]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. The Quietus
    Aug 29, 2016
    80
    [Endless and Blond(e)] are great--but they require time and, realistically, a step-back from the extraordinary (and sometimes ludicrous) hype that necessitates Ocean’s new works be either masterpieces or a complete let-down.
  7. The Independent (UK)
    Aug 25, 2016
    40
    Less structured and song-oriented than Channel Orange, it’s a long, meandering ramble through Ocean’s passing interests and attitudes, hopes and memories, alighted upon like scenes briefly glimpsed from a train window and then dropped into tracks that aren’t so much sung as delivered in an undulating sprechstimme that seems to be avoiding the difficult choice of a compelling melody.

See all 38 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 169 out of 182
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 182
  3. Negative: 7 out of 182
  1. C_dot
    May 22, 2019
    10
    4 years was well worth the wait. Ocean follows up Channel Orange with a phenomenal sophomore project. The lyrical intricacy, gorgeous4 years was well worth the wait. Ocean follows up Channel Orange with a phenomenal sophomore project. The lyrical intricacy, gorgeous production, and Ocean's powerful vocals, this album is fantastic. The wide variety of sonic style provides a track for every instance. Tracks such as Self Control, Nights, and Nikes demonstrate Ocean's creativity and musical prowess, each showing him succeed with a different style. Blonde will forever be a critical piece in Frank Ocean's discography due to its sheer brilliance.… Expand
  2. MrWhiteBrBa
    Aug 22, 2016
    10
    4 years of waiting and this clear emotional album states Ocean's frustrations with social anxiety. Personally one of the best albums of 20164 years of waiting and this clear emotional album states Ocean's frustrations with social anxiety. Personally one of the best albums of 2016 but go ahead and listen for yourself… Expand
  4. jxnasbxtterill
    Jul 30, 2020
    10
    frank ocean’s blonde is a passionate, nuanced, and stylistically dynamic masterpiece that depicts the emotional velocity of unsureness,frank ocean’s blonde is a passionate, nuanced, and stylistically dynamic masterpiece that depicts the emotional velocity of unsureness, heartbreak, and much more.… Expand
  5. altivodias
    Aug 22, 2016
    10
    O álbum do ano foi lançado. Depois da longa espera (4 anos desde o primeiro álbum de estúdio) Frank Ocean voltou, porém dessa vez pra se autoO álbum do ano foi lançado. Depois da longa espera (4 anos desde o primeiro álbum de estúdio) Frank Ocean voltou, porém dessa vez pra se auto afirmar na indústria musical, e tornar-se um dos próximos nomes mais fortes do cenário popular americano.… Expand
  6. ojohn123
    Aug 23, 2016
    10
    I do not think that people looking for singles will find much here. While there are certainly songs that are able to be put on and enjoyed atI do not think that people looking for singles will find much here. While there are certainly songs that are able to be put on and enjoyed at any time out of order, this is meant to be consumed as a full album. The way it builds and falls without reaching a climax, all the while still demanding the listener's attention, is virtuosic.

    The subject matter can be compared to the self-titled album from American emo band American Football. Frank's take on adolescent romance is, however, his own. Rather than a sense of longing and melancholy that AF uses, Frank tends to look at things in a more gentle, reminiscent light.

    Of course, having this album come out at the end of summer, before I go off to university, seems to be a match made in heaven. I'm sure I'm not alone in the unique resonance this album sets with me, and I know that I will look back on this time with Frank Ocean's Blonde as one of the radiating memories    … Expand
  7. ANGELOO22
    Feb 15, 2022
    9
    Já sabemos da capacidade de interpretação de Frank Ocean. A maneira única na qual o artista dá vida a cada nota é o que o diferencia dosJá sabemos da capacidade de interpretação de Frank Ocean. A maneira única na qual o artista dá vida a cada nota é o que o diferencia dos demais artistas de sua geração.
    Profundo, harmônico e genial, três adjetivos que exemplificam Blonde. Talvez o projeto mais aclamado pelo público e com todos os méritos, um álbum que transita de uma forma espetacular por todas as faixas.
    É animador pensar que Frank segue seus próprios passos, sem medo de arriscar, sem medo de errar, e é isso que faz com que ele seja um dos artistas mais geniais da última década.

    Meu top 5 faixas:
    Nikes
    Godspeed
    Nights
    Pink + white
    Seigfried    … Expand
  8. SsidddD
    Jan 8, 2023
    0
    A very wavy produced simple piece of love, loss, heartbreak. It is like feeling summer and cold at the same time. Those simple tunes give theA very wavy produced simple piece of love, loss, heartbreak. It is like feeling summer and cold at the same time. Those simple tunes give the most complex emotions to somebody who is either with/not with or moving on from you. Its different and relatable for everyone. Man named an album "Boys don't cry" and then not just boys everybody cried. No way to hate this bruh Love ain't funny.....… Expand

See all 182 User Reviews

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