 Less melodic and hook @-@ oriented than Nostalgia , Ultra , Channel Orange has soft melodies , gentle articulation , spatial arrangements , and mid @-@ tempo drum beats , although the more ruminative songs feature slower tempos . Robert Christgau asserted that , without its predecessor 's reliance on samples , " Ocean resists making a show of himself — resists the dope hook , the smart tempo , the transcendent falsetto itself . " Ocean , a baritone , sings with casually expressive vocals , free @-@ form flow , conversational crooning , and alternating falsetto and tenor registers . Similar to Nostalgia , Ultra , Channel Orange has interludes that feature sounds of organs , waves , tape decks , car doors , channel surfing , white noise , and dialogue . They exhibit an analog sound quality , and some end abruptly . Writers interpreted them to represent the limited attention span of listeners , moments in Ocean 's life , the distortion inside his mind , nostalgic ephemera , or a synesthesia @-@ inspired theme . Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine viewed that the segues , along with the other songs ' disparate lengths , give the album the feel of a mixtape . 
