Watch Now: Frank Ocean Debuts Three New Songs Live
Good news: Frank Ocean is road-testing new material live and debuted three new tracks Tuesday night during a gig in Munich, Germany. Better yet: It sounds a bit like he said it would—influenced by the Beatles and the Beach Boys, but filtered through his signature Cali-soul style.
Ocean's breakout 2012 album Channel Orange recalled Stevie Wonder, but the Los Angeles singer-songwriter recently said he was listening to the dueling '60s rock bands "for inspiration and to absorb the energies" for his next LP.
"We'll see how it trickles into the music and the final product," he said of the upcoming LP, which is apparently "bordering on a concept record." Well, now we know... kinda.
The three songs, above and below, are based around keyboards and classic melodies that hint of the Boys' crazy-genius Brian Wilson, especially "Track #4" (below), which has mournful horns, swirling psych-funk guitar and trippy synths. In general, the songs' structures are slow-building with experimental rhythms and noticeably less R&B/hip hop feel. It's hardly The White Album or Pet Sounds, but this is definitely an exciting turn for Ocean's sound.
So... how long until his next album arrives? Not. Soon. Enough.
22m
21m
45m
2m
1m
42m
21m
2m
50m
20m
1m
21m
21m
1h 25m
21m
2m
19m
23m
24m
1m
56s
45m
20m
30s
1m
1h 39m
44m
1m
2m
22m
21m
1m
22m
3m
18m
2m
43s
6m
46s
20m
3m
1m
4m
3m
1m
1m
3m
21m
41m
21m
23m
57m
21m
21m
2m
12m
21m
22m
8m
4m
42m
22m
42m
22m
20m
2m
42m
46m
59m
41m
42m
21m
1m
1h 22m
41m
44m
1h 42m
1m
2m
1m
46m
41m
4m
41m
1m
55s
6m
1m
1h 3m