The artwork, which shows a bright orange 1988 BMW that Ocean described as his “dream car,” pretty much sets the tone: Nostalgia, Ultra is more than about vague nostalgia - it’s dreamy. He was 23 when he released the mixtape for free on his Tumblr, an act of defiance against his label Def Jam after they ignored Ocean and kept toying him about officially releasing the mixtape. His songwriting at that time reflects a brave, dreamer young man burying his head in hedonism to suppress the loss of his innocence.
If on “Strawberry Swing,” he dreams about the past, on the next song, “Novacane,” he’s awake and realizing sex and drugs do mix. “Novacane” sees Ocean emotionally numb, dazed by the presence and then by the absence of a dental student slash porn actress he met at Coachella. Over the laidback and atmospheric production, he talks about viagra and having sex under the influence. The track is the first in the record to showcase his manhood and cultural literacy: on it, he references Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick’s last movie, released in 1999. He talks about the movie again on later track “Lovecrimes,” in which he even includes Nicole Kidman’s monologue from the film.
The mixtape is populated by the duality of being unable to forgo your youth and being more mature than most people your age. While four interludes named after video games tie the album together and link it to Ocean’s juvenility, the reconstruction of rock classics and use of indie and electronic samples showcase how Ocean’s musical lexicon was extensive, mature, and eclectic: On “Bitches Talkin’ (Metal Gear),” he uses a snippet of Radiohead’s “Optimistic” to crack a subtle joke about his non-commercial music taste. On “American Wedding,” he samples the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” a song released 21 years before he was born. The band threatened to sue him for using the sample, and Ocean was prohibited from singing the song live. The legal complications around the samples might be responsible for the project’s complete absence on streaming platforms (only two singles, “Novacane” and “Swim Good,” were officially released and remain available for stream).
- Fagner Guerriero - albumlogy.com
