Was this hugely anticipated new album from the singer worth the wait? Here is what critics have been saying about it: 

The Guardian: **** Joe Muggs wrote: “this is going to be an album worth living with.”

Rolling Stone: “Blonde sounds like the real deal. Sonically, it has the same contemplative and poetic tone as Ocean’s lionized 2012 debut.”

The Telegraph: **** Neil McCormick commented that: “Whether it’s the exact shade for you or not, I suspect Blonde (or Blond) is an album that will make an indelible mark on pop culture.”

The Metropolist: **** “Not quite a modern-day classic nor a disappointment: it is a new chapter for Ocean and the sound of a hungry artist constantly evolving and pressing.”

Soul in Stereo: **** “Blonde might not be the story Channel Orange fans wanted to hear, but it’s one they need to hear.”

New York Times: “Blonde is dewy, radiant and easeful, with an approach to incantatory soul that evolves moment to moment.”

NME: “Less immediate and meticulous than ‘Channel Orange’, it instead sees Ocean subtly grow as a songwriter, turning his focus inward as he abandons the character studies that formerly made up most of his lyrics for a mode that’s a lot more personal this time round.”

Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Ocean delivers two disks that expand the vocabulary of rock and pop and give insight into the heart and mind of a gifted musician.”

The Sydney Morning Herald: **** “Nonetheless if you come to Blonde expecting to see a heart ripped open, or have yours ripped in turn, you’ll be left wanting.”

Chicago Tribune: **** “Ocean sings like he’s in church, and his tone is open, a quiver of emotion audible.”