| nostalgia, Ultra | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mixtape by Frank Ocean | ||
| Released | February 18, 2011 | |
| Recorded | 2010–11 | |
| Genre | R&B | |
| Length | 42:06 | |
| Label | Self-released | |
| Producer | Tricky Stewart, Midi Mafia, Bei Maejor | |
| Singles from Nostalgia, Ultra | ||
Nostalgia, Ultra (stylized as "nostalgia, Ultra") is the debut mixtape by American artist Frank Ocean. After joining alternative hip hop OFWGKTA at the end of 2009, he self-released the mixtape on February 18, 2011, without promotion. It was made downloadable via Ocean's personal blog. The mixtape was noted for its surreal themes, its unique R&B aesthetic and the nostalgic lyrical value. Following its release, the mixtape received mostly positive reviews from music critics.
In May 2011, Def Jam announced its plans to release tracks from the mixtape as an EP on July 26, 2011. However the release of the EP was indefinitely delayed in July 2011 and has since been cancelled. Two singles were released from the mixtape, "Novacane", and Swim Good". Both songs received music videos directed by Australian director Nabil Elderkin. "Novacane" received chart success on the Billboard Hot 100 and both singles charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Ocean has since performed both singles and several other songs from Nostalgia, Ultra during his live performances.
The album appeared on several music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists, including ones published by Pitchfork Media, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian. Complex named it the second best mixtape of the year. "Novacane" was also listed as one of the best songs of the year by several publications.
Contents |
After Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans, Ocean moved to Los Angeles to pursue a recording career. There, he landed songwriting gigs for established artists and recording contract with Def Jam, where he went ignored. In protest, Ocean joined the rap collective OFWGKTA and self-released Nostalgia, Ultra without any formal promotion.[1] Ocean sings lyrics he penned over songs by Radiohead, Coldplay, MGMT, Mr. Hudson and The Eagles. Ocean, when uploading the album to iTunes, labeled it as "Bluegrass" and "Death Metal", out of arbitrariness: "I don't want to seem like I have a cause against genres, or maybe I do... Bluegrass is swag. Bluegrass is all the way swag."[2]
In his own words, Ocean describes the album as "Nostalgic. It's a longing for the past. That's what this record felt like."[2] The lyrical content, according to Ocean, relates to heartbreak and other familiar tropes of interpersonal relationships: "I wasn't trying to make a record that people could relate to. I was just trying to make a record with the shit that I wanted to express. The shit that I wanted to get off my chest. [...] A lot of this record is influenced by one relationship, but I don't owe that whole project to one situation. It doesn't matter what the details of it are."[2]
The album begins with a cover of "Strawberry Swing" by English alternative rock band Coldplay.[3] The song ends abruptly with the "rude sound of an alarm clock", followed by the "nightmarish" song Novacane.[4][5] Lyrically, the track "has Ocean losing his senses in the company of a wannabe dentist/porn star he met at Coachella."[4] Several interludes are placed throughtout the album, named after video games, such as Street Fighter, Metal Gear Solid, GoldenEye 007 and Soulcalibur. This is reported to give the album an extra nostalgic level.[4] Track "American Wedding" is a remake of "Hotel California" by American Eagles.[6] Pitchfork Media wrote that "in a skit called "Bitches Talkin", the ladies tell him to cut it out with the damn Radiohead; in "Songs For Women", he obliges-- he's an indie kid when it comes to alienation but a pragmatist when it comes to sex."[5] "Swim Good" has been described as an "astonishing suicide song" and that "Ocean finds himself dressed in black ('Like I'm ready for a funeral'), tormented by heartbreak and on the verge of driving his car into the sea."[7]
On the track "We All Try", Ocean speaks out against homophobia. According to The Guardian, "Odd Future's frequent use of the word 'faggot' unsettled liberal stomachs" though "Ocean was brave enough to stand alone once more, declaring on "We All Try": 'I believe that marriage isn't between a man and woman, but between love and love', and that "on the same song he reveals a refreshingly honest stance on the pro-choice debate: 'I believe a woman's temple, gives her the right to choose/ But baby don't abort.'"[7] "There Will Be Tears" is an emotional song containing a "glitchy beat", and "heavily synthesised vocals," where Ocean sings: "Hide my face, hide my face, can't let 'em see me crying/ Cause these boys didn't have no fathers neither/ And they weren't crying."[7] The mixtape also contains several references to American director Stanley Kubrick and his films, most notably Eyes Wide Shut.[4][6]
On May 19, 2011 Ocean's record label Def Jam announced its plans to release an EP containing tracks from nostalgia, Ultra.[8][9] Ocean announced that the re-release will be titled Nostalgia, Lite and is expected to feature seven tracks.[10] The EP was originally scheduled to be released on July 26, 2011, however, Ocean noted on his official Tumblr page on July 24, 2011 that Nostalgia, Lite would no longer be released on July 26.[11]
"Novacane" was officially released as the first single off of Nostalgia, Ultra on May 31, 2011.[8] "Novacane" first charted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs on May 11, 2011 at number 65.[12] The subsequent week, it rose to number 58, and on its third week, the single rose to number 52. In its fourth week, it rose to number 48.[13] A music video for "Novacane" was released on June 16, directed by Australian director Nabil Elderkin.[14] The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at position 82.[13] "Swim Good" was released as the second single from the mixtape, and it charted at position on 70 on the Billboard R&B chart for one week.[13] A music video also directed Nabil Elderskin was released via Ocean's tumblr account on September 16th.[15]
Ocean performed "Novacane" and "She" with Tyler, The Creator at a OFWGKTA performance in New York.[16] Ocean embarked on a six show solo tour through North America and Europe.[17] Songs "Novacane", "Swim Good", "Dust" and "American Wedding" were performed live by Ocean during his solo performances.[18][19]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (84%)[20] |
| The A.V. Club | (B)[6] |
| Robert Christgau | (A)[3] |
| The Fader | (favorable)[21] |
| The Miscellany News | (favorable)[22] |
| The New York Times | (favorable)[23] |
| NPR | (favorable)[1] |
| No Ripcord | (7/10)[24] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.8/10)[4] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[25] |
nostalgia, Ultra received positive reviews from music critics.[26] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on five reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[26] AbsolutePunk gave it an 84% rating and complimented Ocean's "sensual R&B" style, while calling his beats "unique, well-executed originals."[20] Steven Hyden of The A.V. Club gave the album a B rating and called it "dark, playful, a little tasteless, and absolutely riveting".[6] Connor O'Neill of The Miscellany News called the album "quite a convincing argument to stick around and hear what Ocean puts together after he gets out of bed," stating "he's using the primary means of R&B decadence; however, by funneling it through his diverse and diverging palette, Ocean literalizes both his nostalgic impulses and the odd future of which he is a part."[22] The Village Voice's Sean Fennessey also praises Ocean, saying "on Ultra, but he's an intuitive r&b stylist, with a firm sense of song structure."[25] Sam Hockley-Smith of The Fader commented that "It is a straight up R&B album, and while there are a couple uneven moments, the highs (“Swim Good,” “Song For Women,” “We All Try,” “Dust”) are really high [...] Frank Ocean would probably be (OFWGKTA)'s less open- hearted Kenna—a more cynical, but still simultaneously wide-eyed version."[21]
Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A rating and stated "His romantic laments are models of texture, respect, and profound loss, their beats subtle, seductive, weird, and seized like time whether he's deploying 'songs for women' that are soon trumped by Drake's, not feeling a porn-moonlighting dental student and her 'novacaine,' or annulling a courthouse wedding solemnized just before his bride turned in her term paper on hijab."[3] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal commented that "There are distinct elements of Drake's melancholic paranoia and The-Dream's high melodrama, too. But there's also a heady surreality surrounding Nostalgia, Ultra that makes it unique."[4] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described it as "slick and intuitive [...] full of astral soul that owes debts to Terence Trent D’Arby, Pharrell Williams, even Drake", adding that "[Ocean] sings casually but precisely, stretching out syllables as if he’s forgetting to let them go."[23] NPR's Andrew Noz commented that "It's his songwriting, smart and subtle, that sets Ocean far apart from that pack", adding that "The finest moments of Nostalgia, Ultra orbit the same soul-baring and minutiae-obsessed space as Marvin Gaye's breakup opus Here, My Dear or any number of Prince's more idiosyncratic ballads".[1] No Ripcord's Charlie Jebb wrote that "Nostalgia, Ultra has more than enough good stuff to establish Ocean as an artist to watch," calling it "[an] R&B record with crossover potential without sacrificing soul that creates a complete picture of its author, warts and all."[24]
Despite being a mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra was featured on several music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. Pitchfork Media put it number 35 on its list of the year's top albums, writing that "Chris Breaux, who goes by Frank Ocean, is a male R&B singer with male R&B contradictions: As much as he wants to listen to his heart, he can't completely ignore his dick."[5] The Guardian writer Tim Jonze named it the year's third best album, musing "unafraid to tackle suicide, abortion and absent fathers, this free mixtape introduced one of our most refreshing new R&B stars."[7] The A.V. Club ranked the album number 15 on its year-end list, commenting that "Nostalgia, Ultra became a runaway Internet hit that showed off Ocean’s coaxing croon as well as his outré songwriting skills. Sweetly romantic, yet pensive and moody, Nostalgia is an R&B record for manics, from the hazy lament of “Novacane” to the inward-looking contradiction of “Songs For Women” to the clever pop remakes of The Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Coldplay’s “Strawberry Swing.”[27] Rolling Stone named it the 24th best album of the year, writing "the debut mixtape from the 24-year-old singer (and Odd Future member) is an avant-R&B killer."[28] Complex named it the fourth best album of the year and the second best mixtape.[29][30] Time named it the fifth best album of the year, and wrote that "Ocean also weaves audio of a tape recorder in rewind, video games and Nicole Kidman's adulterous monologue from Eyes Wide Shut into his songs to give the album a personal feel — as if Ocean were gifting us with a collection of sounds that he finds emotionally meaningful."[31] Spin named it the 41st best album of the year.[32]
The track Novacane also received widespread critical acclaim. It was listed as one of the best songs of the year by The New York Times,[33], Ology,[34] and Pitchfork Media named both the video and the song as amongst the best of the year.[35][36]
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "StreetFighter" | 0:22 | |
| 2. | "Strawberry Swing" | Chris Martin | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Novacane" | Tricky Stewart | 5:03 |
| 4. | "We All Try" | 2:52 | |
| 5. | "Bitches Talkin' (Metal Gear Solid)" | Thom Yorke | 0:22 |
| 6. | "Songs 4 Women" | Happy Perez | 4:13 |
| 7. | "LoveCrimes" | Kip Collins | 4:00 |
| 8. | "GoldenEye" | 0:18 | |
| 9. | "There Will Be Tears" | Mr Hudson | 3:15 |
| 10. | "Swim Good" | Midi Mafia | 4:17 |
| 11. | "Dust" | T-Wiz, Bei Maejor | 2:31 |
| 12. | "American Wedding" | James Fauntleroy | 7:01 |
| 13. | "Soul Calibur" | 0:18 | |
| 14. | "Nature Feel" | MGMT | 3:43 |
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