The TV theme, which offers ghostly interludes of what sounds like a person flicking thru channels, is unnecessary. It’s subtle enough, but it serves as a minor distraction from what is otherwise an album of outstanding soul songs. They’re designed around soft and often drum-dampened grooves, mostly slow and sensual in nature; rhythmic pulsations that drip, ooze and float around in space like daydreams of amour caught in a lava lamp. The only reason it’s Pink Matter, as opposed to Orange, is because that particular ode, featuring guest rapper Andre 3000, happens to be dedicated to a girl.
Forrest Gump is dedicated to a guy, which makes Frank Ocean either as bisexual as Janet Jackson was when she sang about loosening the back of a girl’s “pretty” French gown and tying her up with Velvet Rope or as artistically daring. In either case, wherever his true romantic orientation lies, there’s undeniable beauty in these songs. Frank Ocean is like Stevie Wonder in the 1970s, which is nothing less than fantastic, but it’s a style that wouldn’t mean much if that’s all he had to offer. Beyond all the gloss; even the song about Crack Rock sounds enticing enough to make love to; are hearty vocal melodies.
my rating : 4 of 5
2012