Frank Ocean Continues to Shift Shapes on New Songs ‘Dear April’ and ‘Cayendo’

Adi Mehta

There are few figures in contemporary R&B who bring a new vitality to the genre like Frank Ocean. Four years have passed since Ocean released his widely celebrated last album, “Blonde,” and the singer seems to have been using the anticipation to his advantage, keeping a relatively low profile, and dropping a track here and there to send fans speculating wildly. The last “official” releases from him were two singles late last year, “In My Room” and “DHL,” with warped, trap-informed sounds that strayed from Ocean’s usual fare. In addition, Ocean previewed remixes of the two songs, “Dear April” and “Cayendo” at the launch of his queer New York club night, “PrEP+,” in October of last year. On March 25, Ocean went on to release each track on vinyl, with a remix of the former by Justice and the latter by Sango. Only now have acoustic versions of the songs arrived on streaming services. Both stripped-down ballads, the new tracks could hardly be more different from the last two singles.

“Dear April” is open and spacious, with a sparse backdrop of warm guitar tones blending with muffled organ and bass, ringing occasionally with a haunting vibrato. Ocean sounds bare and vulnerable, his candid, unaffected voice betraying a certain innocence that is mirrored in the kept imperfections of the intimate recording. You can hear him breathing, along with incidentals like the squeak from fingers sliding down a guitar’s fretboard. Ocean begins, “Dear April, are you watchin’ him dance?” From the onset, he establishes himself as an outsider, looking in on the second and third parties. Romance, rejuvenation, and all that is associated with spring are not quite as palpable this year as usual, and Ocean taps into the collective perception, releasing a song like this in the beginning of April. 

Ocean sings in clipped, melismatic fragments, instead of a linear melody, which builds tension, as all the empty space leaves so much to be carved out. When Ocean does make a bold gesture, the built anticipation has a powerful, cathartic effect. He sings of “two strangers” left subject to amorous entanglements, eventually noting, “And what we had won’t be the same now,” whereupon backing vocals enter, as if underscoring a game-changing realization. Much care is taken to accentuate just the right syllables of the right words with harmonies, and pitched-up vocals enter at moments, echoing Ocean’s natural utterances. A split second of falsetto indulgence makes all the difference, and by the end, Ocean’s organic and treated voice is stacked in multitudinous, cascading lines. 

“Cayendo” is even more stripped-down than “Dear April,” hinting at a new minimalist direction for Ocean. Here, jazzy guitar chords provide the sole backdrop, and the recording is so casual that you can hear Ocean keeping tempo with a pulse. The primary standout feature of this track is Ocean’s singing in Spanish. Presumably, he simply likes the sound. He makes it quite clear he’s an American, but his slightly awkward accent only makes it more satisfying when he switches to English and sounds perfectly at home. 

Again, the topic is unrequited love, and there are three parties involved. One Spanish line translates to “What he wants from you, I wouldn’t deny,” suggesting, in context, an acceptance of another entity in a romantic affair. This is familiar subject matter for Ocean, who sang on 2016’s “Self Control, “Keep a place for me / I’ll sleep between y’all, it’s no thing.” The key moment comes when Ocean interpolates the refrain from  Sade’s 1988 song “Love is Stronger Than Pride.” In the original tune, slightly embellished to his fancy, he sings, “I still really really love you / Yes I do.” Sometimes nothing beats simplicity. Midway, the singing escalates to dramatic belting, then returns to a subdued, sonorous tone. After the final repetition of the key line, there’s a flash of guitar soloing, a few moments of jamming as if basking in the glow of a dizzying spell. 

The two new songs are both parenthetically labeled as “acoustic,” suggesting that other versions might be to come. Even if those versions turned out to be maximalist, electric productions, they would represent a major change from the off-kilter, more rap/centered stylings of “In My Room” and “DHL.” Ultimately, they show that Ocean is still penning emotive balladry. Both songs revisit familiar themes of unrequited love from original angles. Both are loosely structured and elegantly open-ended. Finally, both show Ocean channeling vulnerability into effusive outpourings with minimal arrangements that achieve more with less. Whether or not they are representative of the material on Ocean’s next album, they’re noteworthy in their own right, showcasing another side of a dynamic artist. 

“Dear April” and “Cayendo” are available April 3 on Apple Music.