On top of this, the drop of his jewellery brand Homer, new episodes of his Blonded radio show and talk of the singer directing an A24 film have just felt like distractions, seemingly to do with anything other than putting out new music.

This outward indecisiveness almost shatters the mystique of what’s to come, mainly out of a gradual lack of trust in these glints of hope.

Or take the rumours of his 2020 dance music album, paired with club nights and vinyl releases, which sadly came to halt due to the pandemic and was never picked back up once normal life recommenced. Photo: Jamie McCarthyįor instance, in 2019, when he dropped singles ‘DHL’ and ‘In My Room’, they arrived with cryptic album artwork, seemingly easter-egging that they were part of a greater collection – which of course, we never ended up hearing. Free from the exploitative shackles of a rigid record deal, the singer has since hinted at his return several times, only to repeatedly retract pretty hastily. The infamous Blonde/ Endless swindle saw Frank conjuring up the perfect exit from his Def Jam deal in 2016, whilst maintaining majority ownership over his second studio album. After all, this is Frank Ocean we’re talking about. Of course, this led to a fan spiral of excitement once more, which was met equally with a fair deal of scepticism over whether this longer-form project is in imminent action.

To add fuel to the fire, his latest merch drop of ‘Blonded’ posters last week featured a vague message on the back, stating “The Recording Artist” is wanting to move away from putting out singles to “more durational bodies of work”. With the recent announcement of Frank Ocean’s headlining slot in the 2023 Coachella lineup, the conversation on every music buff’s lips is if this is the year Frank Ocean finally drops some new music. How long is too long to wait for a new record? After almost a six-and-a-half year wait since Blonde, and a few cryptic messages as to his next album, Millie O’Brien delves into the waiting game of being a Frank Ocean fan.

Frank ocean albums by the seasnos