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Deathwish (ASR)

Carrying on from Florida seamlessly (this occurs in the transitions in almost every track, by the way. It plays into the notion that this is an ‘Endless’ album, with all of the tracks forming into one singular piece of music.), we have Deathwish (ASR), which features a peculiar off-beat percussion section that is torn apart by hazey vocals and echoey synths. The song only gathers a semblance of what we come to know as a song (Ocean appears only too adamant on throwing curveball after curveball) when the bass kicks in. This is probably my least favourite of the track-listing, but it still serves as a nice interlude into the next song.

Rushes

When I first listened to this album, for whatever reason (my mind must have been agaze, ruminating on some sort of existential crisis or something), this song escaped my attention until its latter half. Before that, however, when I listened again in a less pensive mood and my mind fixed solely on the music I realised was a perfect exhibition of what can be done with the gradual increase in dynamics. From what initially starts as a vacuum of sound – Frank’s vocals delivered to an empty room – emerges a torrent of emotion that is achieved primarily because of Ocean’s layering of vocals and insurgence of distortion on the electric guitar. What this track also displays is an artistic subtle use of effects on vocals – a slight autotune twang that lends a greater intensity to the song. After a culmination of emotion, we are left with a lapse, a little recovery time. What then proceeds is something akin to the track ‘Pretty Sweet’ – some insane leftfield drumming out of nowhere over the top of vibrato chords. This is definitely one of the highlights off of the album.

Rushes To

This track, like the one before it, displays plenty of emotion. Frank allows his vocals to do all this for him as he sings over a simple acoustic guitar chord progression. It is hard to write a review of a track that follows such a similar pattern to other songs on the track-listing – this is a brilliant song that follows Frank’s new minimal formula.

Higgs

This track is made from different ingredients in its alchemy, however. The bright synth chords are accentuated by what sounds like the movement of electric wire, which, rather than being agitating, serves to add a rather diverse feeling to the track. Then, as one smacks someone round the face, an ostinato of a synth chord that sounds like it’s being channelled through a pipe bombasts its way in accompanied by, literally, 1/1,000,000 beats and an aching reverbed vocal.

Device Control (Outro)

And if only we had left it there we would sit up, as one does from a divine sip of coffee, and radiate a small of warm contentment. But instead we are given this weird 80s techno track, which, though covering interesting themes, seems superfluous and ruinous to the album as a whole.

Image Credits: CNET