Trying to ascribe a genre to this is like trying to nail the shore to the sand. Audaciously ambitious, operatic and distinctly symmetrical, Гўв‚¬ЛњPyramidsГўв‚¬в„ў cements its creator as a monumental force of contemporary music whose aspirational tendencies make him vital and also one of the only living artists who might just earn the title of PrinceГўв‚¬в„ўs spiritual successor. Anyone who has listened to near 10-minute opus Гўв‚¬ЛњPyramidsГўв‚¬в„ў should be fully aware that Frank Ocean is so much more than just an unapologetically sentimental cinephile. The only minor gripe one could find in all this was that OceanГўв‚¬в„ўs heart-rending admission dominated his narrative so much that people forget that Channel ORANGEГ‚В is as much a work about black identity as it is a sexual one. When he released the critically lauded Channel ORANGEГ‚В just a few days later, critics fell over them trying to contextualise that revelation into OceanГўв‚¬в„ўs picturesque and sincere storytelling. Ocean may not be a rapper, but heГўв‚¬в„ўs certainly a part of that world, and his nakedly honest words werenГўв‚¬в„ўt an easy fit for the guarded and sometimes homophobic hip hop community. It was so much more than a matter of just Гўв‚¬Е“gay hypeГўв‚¬Вќ though, because the sheer confessional power of the piece is what really disarmed people. I suppose we should expect it, as the seismic tremors of that admission to an unrequited homosexual love are still being felt in the world of urban music all these years later. It has to be said, itГўв‚¬в„ўs become something of a clichГѓВ© to reference that headline-grabbing Tumblr post when writing about Frank Ocean. Imagine lots of dry ice, a velvet-covered rotating stage and the entire front row sighing, вЂњI love you, FrankвЂќ.Welcome toГ‚ One Track Minded, whereГ‚ we pick a select cut from a chosen act and delve beneath the surface.Г‚ Frank Ocean may well never release that almost mythical second album of his so hereГўв‚¬в„ўsГ‚ Mark Conroy to wax lyrical on the 10-minute masterpiece that is Гўв‚¬Лњ PyramidsГўв‚¬в„ў. вЂњPlaying вЂPyramidsвЂ™ on the road is gonna be my favourite part,вЂќ he wrote on Twitter recently. Does writing for BeyoncГ© not pay like it used to? Although itвЂ™s possible heвЂ™ll splurge more lyrics, videos and songs on his must-follow Tumblr at any moment, for now all we know is that the new album вЂChannel OrangeвЂ™ is coming out on July 17, that his preoccupation with the road is likely to influence it (the вЂNostalgia, UltraвЂ™ car appears in a teaser trailer) and this song will definitely get an outing on his upcoming US tour. Coming in at almost 10 minutes long and featuring sexy Simpsons characters on the cover (warning: may result in some new, confusing feelings) itвЂ™s an R&B odyssey slinking from ancient Egypt вЂ“ where wild cheetahs are on the loose and Cleopatra meets a snakey doom вЂ“ to the present day where Frank is living that sleazy motel room life.

This week alone, NME has spent at least two days having our minds freaked on by its space funk swirl. Like PrinceвЂ™s вЂPurple RainвЂ™, Frank OceanвЂ™s вЂPyramidsвЂ™ is the kind of track youвЂ™ll lose hours and hours of your life to.

Pyramids frank ocean album cover