After 4 Years, Frank Ocean Returns to Alienate Casual Fans With 2 Albums

Silence is deafening. That idiom has never been more true for Frank Ocean, the R&B singer who released his debut album "Channel Orange" in 2012, rocked the music world, and then evaporated.

In the four years between "Channel Orange" and last weekend, there was very little noise from Ocean. He was featured on songs from heavy-hitters (Jay Z, Kanye West, Beyonce, John Mayer) but didn't make waves. He was somewhat active on his Tumblr (the only social media he uses) and lit up the Internet last summer when he made a post suggesting his album would be out in June 2015. The moment came and went. Ocean, 28, went radio silent again.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that an insider told The New York Times Ocean was gearing up for music, sparking the Internet to go into a frenzy. But still, nothing happened and fans understandably became increasingly agitated with the recluse musician.

Finally, on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20, Ocean officially returned, releasing two pieces of music: Visual album "Endless" and proper album "Blonde" respectively. In addition, popup stores around the globe were selling Ocean merchandise, including a zine called "Boys Don't Cry" (basically a real life Tumblr, detailing Ocean's arty/homoerotic aesthetic), which included the physical "Blonde" CD. But with each passing year, and each false start to new material, anticipation for Ocean's enviable return mounted.

Fans who hoped Ocean would return with "Channel Orange II" might be disappointed with "Endless" and "Blonde," which, in total, clock in at an hour-and-forty-five minutes of new material. "Endless" is formless, lacking the structure of a traditional album. It's accompanying black-and-white video is a live stream hosted by Apple Music on Ocean's Tumblr, which shows him building a staircase in a warehouse.

"Endless" features an interesting lineup of collaborators, including out producer Arca (Bjork, FKA Twigs), musician James Blake, Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood, lo-fi musician Alex G and two songs from German artist Wolfgang Tillmans, which bookends the album. "Endless" a minimal soundscape; Ocean's vocals are cut, chopped, modified and altered. He rarely sings straightforward but when he does, the song grabs you: Ocean's cover of The Isley Brothers' "(At Your Best) You Are Love" is stunningly gorgeous, and "Comme des gar�ons" pops as he repeats the high fashion brand's name over and over. But for every track that resembles a fully formed song, there are three ambient pieces that feel like the skeletons of songs that were left on the warehouse floor where Ocean was building his staircase.

Fans were initially concerned "Endless" was the album, but Ocean, who has been touting the phrase "I've got two version" on his Tumblr for awhile now, released "Blonde," and a music video for single "Nikes," exclusively to Apple Music about 24-hours later.

Like "Endless," "Blonde" features a strong list of producers and artists, including big names like Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West. Smaller acts like Jamie xx, former Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij, Hudson Mohawke and Mike Dean also get credits. With such an interesting and eclectic mix of talent, "Blonde" sounds lush and expensive, though nearly as formless as "Endless."

First and foremost, "Blonde" is an execution in production; it's a mood piece. Like Drake's latest album "Views," Ocean's new material is all about vibes over structure. "Blonde" is a self-indulgent album that finds Ocean unconcerned with making 3-minute and 30-second radio hits, which he can probably crank out in his sleep. Instead, Ocean goes full Arthur Russell; the 17 tracks that make up the LP are woven together with blissed out electric guitars, bleeding in and out of each other. Like "Endless," it's hard to tell when one song ends and the other begins on "Blonde."

There is more to grab onto here, however. The first three tracks, "Nikes"; "Ivy"; and "Pink + White," are fully realized jams, with "Pink + White" sounding as close to "Channel Orange" as one could hope.

"Ivy," however, is the by far the standout on "Blonde." It references the Tumblr letter Ocean wrote a day before "Channel Orange" was released, where he made headlines for revealing his first love was with a man.

"I thought that I was dreaming / When you said you loved me," he coos over a strumming guitar.

On "Good Guy," Ocean again touches on his sexuality, which is a huge talking point among fans and critics. It's an explicit song about Ocean on a date with a guy who seems to be interested in other things:

"Here's to the gay bar you took me to / Here's when I realized you talk so much, more than I do / I, it's highlights when I was convinced / That it isn't much more it's so not you / I know you don't need me right now / And to you it's just a late night out."

The gems are spread throughout "Blonde" but you'll have to dig them out among the tracks that sound half-finished. Like fleeting thoughts of uneasiness and apprehension, Ocean often stops in mid-sentence before a song abruptly ends. As a result, "Blonde" is frustrating, even for the most devoted Ocean fans. The album demands a lot from the listener. Casual fans, who have eagerly been awaiting his return for years and expected to get the honest shimmering jams that made "Channel Orange" a sensation, might not have the patience needed for an album this dense. As some critics noted, much of "Blonde" details Ocean's feelings on sexuality and identity as a black queer man interested in pop culture and art. Some critics even labeled the LP a LGBTQ masterpiece. But the emotional punch is often lost because of the record's focus on production rather than straightforward music.

With all the fanfare surrounding Ocean's new albums (the zine, that "Endless" fulfilled Ocean's deal with Def Jam and "Blonde" was independently released right to Apple Music; a major shake-up for the music industry), the music starts to become the least interesting part of the conversation, especially given his new material's complexity. "Blonde" could be a grower, revealing its full genius over the coming months, but for now the new music remains as enigmatic as Ocean himself.