Today: Mar 18, 2024

Frank Ocean’s short and sweet singles explore new territory

Jackson VolenecReporter

Frank Ocean released a new single called “In My Room,” following up his other recently released single called “DHL,” two tracks that are exploring new sonic territory for him.

Ocean has been one of the most influential artists of the 2010s, as he had quickly established a name for himself and rose to the top seemingly overnight with the hip-hop collective posse Odd Future, containing figures such as Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt.

However,among this group of mostly rappers and producers, Frank has always stood out from the rest of them due to his amazing vocal capabilities and heavy use of R&B influence in his music.

Ocean debuted into the mainstream eye when he released his album “Channel Orange,” an album that had showcased his incredible vocal capabilities coupled with very impressive production choices. This album also blew up with breakout songs such as “Thinkin’ Bout You.”

After releasing “Blonde,” his latest full LP in 2016, a platinum selling
masterpiece that has been critically acclaimed across all areas on the Internet, fans were anxiously waiting for new music to come for a few years now. Similar to the days leading up to the release of this album, the anticipation for new music from Ocean has been very high from fans. So, with the two most recent singles releasing, the chance for a new album is very likely.

On “In My Room,” it is immediately apparent that it is going in a different creative direction than what we heard on Blonde and Channel Orange. This single uses more popcentric and electronic sounds that carry the instrumental.

The lyrics are discussing a wide variety of topics, but the main focus centers around his relationship with the person he has seemed to reference in both this and “DHL”. The lyrical content on this song is dense and tells a good story, however it falls in the background, merely adding to the vibe of the track more than anything else. However, this is not a bad thing, as I really enjoy the atmosphere it provides.

The main problem that I have with this song is how short it is; it seems like this is a piece of what could be a larger, more cohesive piece when placed next to the other songs in the track list when the album releases. However, as a single, it seems like it could use a bit more development as an individual song, as it is only two minutes long with no hook.

His other single recently released, “DHL,” has a similarly short structure, and it is also trying to showcase more of a vibe than anything else. I enjoyed that track as well, but once again I think it could have used a little more development.

The flow and structure of “In My Room” is very catchy, and overall is accomplishing the goal of being a quick pop song that has a lot of replay value if you enjoy the tune that this song provides.

This song is not one of the most conceptual or well-crafted songs that Ocean is known to put out consistently on his past projects, but it is a catchy song that you will likely enjoy if you have enjoyed his previous work.

Ocean has yet to release an album that is not of amazing quality, so I have high hopes for this potential upcoming album to be great. This song, along with “DHL,” only gives a short glimpse into what the full project will sound like together.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from Blog

Don't Miss

Both cross country teams win NE10s

Jaylen Carr – Editor-in-Chief The men’s and women’s cross-country teams won first

Volleyball wins two straight

Luke Gadson – Sports Editor The Owls fought hard for a 3-1