This album is basically the reason I started this blog. My favourite album of all time, and I just know as I get older, I will have a much different appreciation for this masterpiece.
Where to start? well coming back from a 4 year gap from his prior album, “Channel Orange”, expectations where high when fans got their hands this brand new body of work, and it did now disappoint. However this wasn’t to be as expected. With a new and more cathartic view upon past relationships, childhood and how the future will pan out, this album seems to take twists and turns out of no where, with such tracks as “pretty sweet“. However these artistic leaps were met with open arms by many. With many critics and music lovers arguing whether or not this was the best album of the year, with the clear contestant being “Lemonade“ by Beyoncé, which to me is ironic seeing as she actually appears in the backing vocals of “pink + white”
The album seems to be dipped in rose gold, with the wild guitar strings on “Ivy” to the near perfect vocals on “self control”, however it isn’t just a shallow ballad for Frank to flex his musical muscles, but is a sweet and sentimental nod to his earlier life, with constant references to adolescence. He opens up his vulnerable side to his listeners, how he is constantly living on the edge of wanting to be free, but also having the consciousness that it may not be the best idea seeing as being free means truly to be alone.
This may be the reasoning behind his reminiscence of his younger days, where his younger mind wouldn’t have to deal with any of these burdens, where one could be free, but still have friends and family behind them. This is highlighted most in “solo”, with the reoccurring backing vocals of “solo“ and “so low”. Every layer of every song has an intricate and valuable attribute, respectively, in the same song, the use of organs may be a reminder of church in his youth.
With every song, comes a new view of a bigger picture, his constant internal battle Is documented perfectly and the outcome still isn’t figured out by the end of the album, with the last few minutes being an old recording of himself with his friends, this may become a lifelong battle, that unfortunately may ultimately consume him. Just like how he wishes he could go back to his youth in this album, he may look back at this album and wish to go back to this time and make a decision before it was too late, to either let go of his past, or to carry both the joy of what life once used to be and the burden that it will never be the same again. As I said prior, this album is one, if not my favourite of all time. An instant classic, I rate this easily 10/10. I could not praise this artist enough.
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