Hear Frank Ocean’s Mellow New Song ‘Lens’

Frank Ocean aired an unannounced episode of Blonded Radio late Saturday night on Beats 1, where the singer debuted two versions of another new song titled “Lens.”

Ocean’s voice is the main instrument on the largely unadorned track, with only occasional keyboard flourishes and a light touch of drums accompanying Ocean’s manipulated vocals over the song’s three-minute runtime.

“Fake flowers / No water needed / Real life drowned by the weekend,” Ocean sings, his voice coated in Auto-Tune. “Despite our history / Some way at night, you’re stuck when you think of me.”

In addition to Ocean’s solo version, the singer also dropped a “V2” six-minute take that, following a long outro, boasts a verse from Travis Scott, whose voice is similarly distorted:

The “Lens V2” cover art sports a variation of artist Kerry James Marshall’s famed 1980 painting “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self.”

“Lens” is the third new song that Ocean has debuted on his Beats 1 show following the release of his two LPs Endless and Blonde. The singer previously premiered “Chanel” and “Biking,” which featured Jay Z and Tyler, the Creator.

Next month, Ocean will return to the stage for the first time in over two years when he performs at Gulf Shores, Alabama’s Hangout Fest, with gigs at festivals like Washington state’s Sasquatch, Los Angeles’ FYF Fest and New York’s Panorama also scheduled.