bright and early

You Can Buy Frank Ocean’s Debut Album Now, a Week Early

INDIO, CA - APRIL 13: Frank Ocean performs during the 2012 Coachella Music Festival at The Empire Polo Club on April 13, 2012 in Indio, California. (Photo by C Flanigan/FilmMagic)
Photo: C Flanigan/2012 C Flanigan

Frank Ocean, front-runner for 2012’s king of welcome surprises, just sprung Channel Orange on an unsuspecting Internet — and Internet only, as the physical release date remains July 17. The album is his official debut, following early 2011’s Nostalgia, Ultra, which, albeit astounding, was brief and featured just a few all-original, non-sampled tracks. So if getting in on the ground floor of Ocean’s real-life record is your thing, go do that on iTunes any time you see fit. (No word if Channel Orange will show up on Spotify or Amazon prior to its in-store release.) After Vulture’s quick, gleeful clicks into the tracks featuring Andre 3000 (“Pink Matter”) and Odd Future’s Earl Sweatshirt (“Super Rich Kids”), as well as a curiosity-mandated spin through one called “Forrest Gump,” we can say: Yes. Now heading back to track one and firmly selecting Repeat All

Buy Frank Ocean’s Debut Album Now, a Week Early