Solana Imani Rowe, popularly known as SZA, is an iconic pop artist whose previous album, CTRL, swept the nation, certifying itself as a double platinum album and debuting at top three on the Billboard 300 chart. Though this wasn’t SZA’s first album, her unique voice showed through in the 14 songs originally released on this album and since then, her rise to fame has left new and old fans anxious to hear more.
CTRL was released in 2017, and since then, the artist has been solely releasing singles and featuring on other artists’ songs. Because of this radio silence, fans have been anticipating this album release for a long time. Although I found her music later, I, along with her original fans, find it hard to accept that the party is over, and can relate to this anticipation for new music. After waiting years for a new album, SOS is, if anything, was not what I expected.
The long awaited release of this album is apparent in SZA’s sound, as you can hear the artist expanding upon her sound and testing the boundaries of her vocal and creative abilities through each song. SZA is known for releasing snippets of her songs and not releasing the rest of it until years later, and popular unreleased songs I have been wanting to hear more of were released on this album. SZA’s release of “Blind,” “Used” and “Shirt” were an answer to my prayers. In these songs, SZA’s sound blessed my ears and left me listening on repeat.
Although the release of these older songs was a blessing enough, SZA did us all a favor by creating the masterpieces that are “Far” and “Kill Bill,” songs which not only tell rather detailed and comedic stories, respectively, but also manage to be simultaneously unique and catchy.
SZA’s voice in “Special,” “Seek & Destroy” and many of the other songs off the album truly made me transcend. Special, in particular, had a powerful message that was brutally honest and relatable to not only SZA herself, but her listeners as well. If there is one thing that SZA can do, it’s writing an outstanding song with amazing vocals and the most relatable lyrics that put your thoughts into words. “Special”’s message highlights the artist’s feelings of insecurity and talks about how she wishes she were at times someone else, or deemed special by others. SZA’s vulnerability in this song is touching and the lyrics are very relatable to newer generations who constantly compare themselves to people they see on social media.
SZA’s ability to be so in tune with her emotions and portray them into such beautiful lyrics and melodies make her songs much more meaningful, setting her apart from many other artists whose songs often only reach the surface of harder topics. This message is similar to that of songs on her previous album, CTRL, and felt like a message that blended the somberness of Drew Barrymore with the more upbeat and hopeful Normal Girl.
Some tracks on this album did feel a bit pop-y, though I think these songs were a good contrast to the more somber songs on the album and truly encompass the five year journey that SZA went through while writing this album. The variety in the track list relates to the rollercoaster of emotions that many people feel throughout life, sometimes feeling more upbeat and other times feeling down. Within the five years that led up to this album, SZA was able to grow and learn from her own personal experiences, developing both as a person and an artist. This makes SOS even more special, because in a way, the album sounds like what growing up feels like; a discombobulated series of events that somehow shape our identities and make us unique yet also similar enough to relate to the various songs on this album.
The twelfth and thirteenth songs on this track, “Ghost in the Machine” featuring Phoebe Bridgers and “F2F,” were a true display of how SZA explored her sound, trying out a pop-rock and alternative influenced sound that strays from the rest of her discography. I loved how honest these songs were, the lyrics were creative and SZA’s new approach to these songs only made her voice more unique than before, while still maintaining the album’s cohesion.
If I were to change one thing about this album, I would have added “PSA” to the track list. SZA released the first verse to this song as a teaser to this album and I was looking forward to hearing the rest of it, though the artist has made it very clear on social media that there isn’t a second verse to the song and it will remain a snippet. Knowing SZA, however, I still have hope that this song will be released later on, even if it means years of waiting.
Although it is common for artist’s albums to be compared to their previous music, comparing SOS to CTRL or any of SZA’s previous music would be a mistake for any listeners. I couldn’t determine which album of hers is the best because they are different works of art. If SOS was a person, I would say it was the older version of CTRL, still dealing with the same issues as before, but now learning how to move past it and growing from those past experiences, slowly gaining closure of the issues that once consumed her.
Overall, I’d rate this album a 10 out of 10. It not only made my day, my week and my year, but it is also a true work of art. The songs have enough variety that kept me interested while also remaining true to SZA’s iconic sound and heavenly voice. SOS is an album I’ll be playing on repeat and I can’t see any of the songs on it getting old. This album is timeless and I think it’s more than deserving of praise from her old fans and new listeners. Although it is very different from her previous album, it is a piece of art that I can see easily winning a Grammy.
