"
Novacane" is the debut single by American recording artist
Frank Ocean. It was released as the
lead single from his
mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra. The song was written by Ocean,
Tricky Stewart and Victor Alexander, and
produced by Stewart. Lyrically, the song narrates a tale of a young female dental student who makes a living doing
porn and who recreationally uses
local anesthetic drugs that she acquires from her place of study. The song explores themes of isolation,
loneliness and a lack of feeling caused by
numbness. The song received highly positive reviews from
music critics and was listed as one of the best songs of the year by publications such as
The New York Times,
Spin,
Ology,
Zimbio and
Pitchfork Media. Reviews praised the dark subject matter of the song, and praised Ocean's ability to create narratives and the sonic atmosphere of the track.