Frank Ocean is a musical enigma. Almost like a ghost or a phantom, he comes and goes as pleases, revealing himself to us only when he wants to be seen. Or rather, what he wants to be seen. The release of his critically acclaimed Channel Orange in 2012 left listeners begging for more, but it wasn’t until last April that Ocean made any concrete statements about a release date for a follow-up album. Having alluded to his second album being released in July, fans waited impatiently for a new batch of melancholy tunes to get them through the summer.

July came and went with no word or comment from Ocean about his sophomore album or its delay in being released and since then fans have been on red alert, expecting the highly anticipated Boys Don’t Cry to be released at any given moment. A year later, Ocean is back and baiting the masses with yet another tease; this time in the form of a cryptic image of a library stamp card labeled Boys Don’t Cry with various date stamps on it, ending with July 2016 posted on his website. Could this finally be it? The masterpiece that so many fans have lusted after, so close to being revealed? It’s looking like it. In honor of the eventual release of Boys Don’t Cry, let us look back at some of Ocean’s most poignant tracks.

Before Channel Orange, there was the Nostalgia, Ultra EP. Novacane was the first single off the EP and focuses on the relationship between Ocean and a female dentistry student at a music festival where the two partake in the recreational use of anesthetic drugs while at the same time exploring feeling lonely and numb. The title of the song is a play on the name of the anesthetic drug Novocain.

Swim Good was the first song that I heard by Ocean and the song that undoubtedly launched him into the neo-soul mainstream. One of Ocean’s darker songs, it deals with the aftermath of failed relationships and having a back and forth mental dialogue of wanting to end it all.

The heartfelt ballad about an unrequited one sided love that caused a stir because of the use of the pronoun “he” instead of “she.” It had all the makings of the perfect commercial R&B hit: an emotive hook, smooth 808s, and lyrics that you can feel throughout your body and soul.

An elegiac song about a pimp falling in love with one of his girls, it’s a trip from start to finish. Beginning as a synthesized ballad worshipping his “Cleopatra”, it evolves into a trip-funk ode to complete with an epic guitar solo making for a rather musically diverse nine minutes and 54 seconds.

It doesn’t make sense to call one Frank Ocean song lyrically poignant because, in all honesty, they all are. However, Bad Religion stands out because of the raw emotion with which Ocean sings it. A simple song narrating the dialogue between Ocean and a taxi driver who is trying to give him advice, with the sole line “It’s a bad religion to be in love with someone who could never love you." It's enough to break anyone’s heart in two.