And then offers both a motor-mouth Andre 3000, a Frenchman talking about a Facebook/real life contretemps, and a mother (Ocean's?) on tape with life advice. He drops in Michael Jackson, in words, and Prince in tone, Marvin Gaye in focus and Drake in temper. There are nods to the Beatles ( Here There And Everywhere most noticeable on White Ferrari, which also echoes Bon Iver) as well as ones to the Beach Boys on Endless. On Blonde he sings with a studio tweaked-high voice and a robotic, emotion-stripped one, a double and triple-decked voice, a languid delivery, some close-to-the-mic intimacy and a casual rap.

Ocean isn't one for clear delineations, in sexuality or judgment, in style or sound. Speaking of which, the Blonde/Blond use isn't accidental – as if anything would be four years into this project – but not necessarily tactical either. If Endless was an album to drift into, Blonde is one to take to bed, to be a soundtrack for rotating moments of intimacy and isolation, sleep and reverie, sex and solitude. Like another active rhythm track, the not quite as frenetic Close To You – which does make reference to the Bacharach/David song – Pretty Sweet is short, an interregnum, with Ocean reversing the order of pop albums where the slow tracks are the interludes. Pretty Sweet is a rarity on these two albums, a prominent rhythm track – its busy drum patterns reminiscent of '90s jungle – lifting the eyes (from navel to horizon) as much as the tempo. Even when in focus though, those sounds more often surround rather than impose. Instead, keyboards, boneless guitars, very occasional strings and sounds less defined slide across your view as shapes more often than not, rather than individual elements.

Tempos are set to easy and there are few concessions to bass/drums as scene-setters.

If one word could summarise Blonde, even more than Endless, it is liquid: there is a fluidity here that is both flow and immersion. In a year of ground shifting releases from Beyonce, Rihanna, Drake and Kanye West – and if you are inclined, you could stretch time and categories to include Avalanches and, yes, I'm serious, Carly Rae Jepson – Blonde/Endless is a compelling, stimulating experience that manages to stand apart from those major names. The short answer to that implied question is somewhere near the top, artistically. Frank Ocean's 17-track album Blonde is a compelling and stimulating experience.

Blonde frank ocean album review