Album Review: Frank Ocean

It’s just as well Frank Ocean’s second full-length album is as stunningly accomplished as it. A pre-release circus that saw the Los Angeles-based singer and producer repeatedly postpone its release had threatened to deprive the 28-year-old of the goodwill engendered by 2012’s Channel Orange.

Yet the chaotic circumstances in which Blonde (styled ‘Blond’ on the sleeve) came into the world are quickly forgotten as it becomes clear Ocean, a collaborator with Beyoncé, Kanye and Justin Bieber, has crafted his masterpiece.