FRANK OCEAN – CHANNEL ORANGE

Building on central themes of nostalgia, longing and trepidation, this innovative album has wiped the R&B slate clean. Rejecting the recurring hook/falsetto cookie-cutter template of so much contemporary R&B, Channel Orange thrives on the life stories of contemptuous well to dos and is sympathetic to the languishing survivors of the world. They’re his stories, demanding your attention from start to finish. (EB, IS)