Let’s hope he shows the same bravery and honesty in his music as he has done with his private life, made public.” It’s well worth persevering with Channel Orange Frank Ocean is clearly a man possessing a talent worth paying attention. A shame, then, that Ocean decided to fill Channel Orange with R&B cliché, jaded nu-soul rhythms and half-finished ideas. :: Gigwise isn’t quite as smitten: “Frankly, an album’s worth of ‘Bad Religion’ and it’s successor, ‘Pink Matter,’ featuring Andre 3000 - which is equally arresting - would have worked well. Which is, of course, just as it should be.” The whys and wherefores of Frank Ocean’s sexuality seem completely irrelevant. :: The Guardian notes, “For now, the best tribute you can pay Channel Orange is that, while it plays, you forget about the chatter and just luxuriate in a wildly original talent. This is not summer time music, nor deep music, nor soul music, nor weird music, nor gay music. :: wades through the controversy and looks to the music: “Frank Ocean has placed himself above genre borders and identity labels with Channel Orange. (Think Drive by way of baby-maker-pop maestro Maxwell.)” :: Entertainment Weekly gives the album a B+: “If Southern California needs an avant-R&B soundtrack, let this be it: Ocean’s hypnotic major-label debut plays like an indie movie, with songs about sun-faded palm trees, cokeheads in Polo sweats, and strippers in Cleopatra makeup.

Head below for our roundup of Channel Orange reviews, but keep in mind that several of them were done spur of the moment, given the unexpected release of of Ocean’s record 12 hours ago. And the good news for Ocean is that most reviewers seem to conclude that his first offering more than holds up to all the press its inevitably getting. Given the singer’s recent online revelation that he had a relationship with a member of the same sex when he was 19, there’s naturally a lot of interest and curiosity surrounding his album.

Frank Ocean performed Channel Orange track “Bad Religion” on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on Monday, and also surprised fans by dropping his debut solo LP digitally, on iTunes - a full week ahead of its scheduled release date - at midnight.

Channel orange review needle drop