Frank Ocean is back at it again with a new song, “Lens”

It seems like Frank Ocean is really hitting his stride. After emerging back onto the scene last year, Ocean is dropping new music all the time now. These drops come courtesy of his blonded RADIO channel on Apple Music.

And that’s where he dropped “Lens,” an introspective, stripped down soliloquy.

This is the fourth release from Ocean’s blonded RADIO. The first three were his Calvin Harris/Migos collabo “Slide,” “Chanel,” and Jay Z/Tyler the Creator collab “Biking.” These songs may not appear to fit a theme; but play them back to back, and you get a feeling that Ocean’s curating a drowsy summer mood.

“Lens” is perhaps the most sparse of releases. The song does open up about halfway through, but the crux of the background is keyboard dribbling. Ocean loves to warp his voice, and he plays with its texture as he sings about spirits, surveillance, and the one that got away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrjluxMupus

In a new twist though, Ocean also dropped a second version of “Lens” featuring rapper Travis Scott. The song opens up into an extended outro, as Scott’s distorted voice goes through his own musings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni9LIdVGnZI

Is an experiment for Frank Ocean? Is blonded going to end up being his own way of sneaking through an entire album outside of the major music system? What else does Ocean have in store, especially as he hits the summer festival touring circuit? We’ll be listening in, whatever he comes up with.