Five years after her hit album Ctrl, R&B superstar SZA hit fans with her sophomore album “SOS.” The album includes features from Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, Travis Scott and a sample feature from Ol’ Dirty Bastard. As a SZA fan myself, I wanted to share my thoughts on the album.
But first…some anonymous thoughts from fellow Carleton students!
“I really liked that the songs named after movies didn’t just reference a line in the movie, but actually touched on similar themes.”
“I didn’t dislike the album but I found that there were too many vocal runs – they just took away from some of the songs in my opinion.”
“I didn’t know SZA well as an artist before, but I always enjoyed the songs I heard from her. After this album, I became a huge fan – especially after hearing F2F. I also appreciate the production a lot.”
“I actually enjoyed her first album more than this one, but some songs were good enough to add to a couple of my playlists.”
Okay, back to my opinions:
One of the main themes of “SOS” is heartbreak. SZA explores all the honest feelings people go through during a breakup. No sugar coating. She expresses jealousy and extreme loneliness in multiple tracks – a feeling people try to suppress to seem less “crazy” or “embarrassing.” This is especially evident in her popular track “Kill Bill,” named after the 2003 film starring Uma Thurman (a story about jealousy and revenge).
“F2F” surprised me the most on this album. SZA stepped away from her R&B/hip-hop sound to dip her toes into the world of pop-punk. I loved seeing her explore a different genre. This song is about seeing other people try and forget the person you miss and care about the most. I had this song on repeat for days when it came out, it brought me back to jamming to Avril Lavigne in my childhood bedroom.
“Special” is one of my favourites. I feel like so many people can relate to this one. It is all about giving your all to someone and feeling like you have nothing left – losing every part of yourself that made you feel special.
She serves vocals and relationship grief in “Nobody Gets Me,” expresses love in “Snooze” and even gives listeners a hype dance song with “Low.”
Many people criticize SZA for sounding desperate, but I believe anybody going through a breakup feels these same emotions and she just wasn’t afraid to be real and admit it. Although, in case you forgot “Good Days” is still on this album, where the lyrics read out “I don’t miss no ex, I don’t miss no text, I choose not to respond.”
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Overall, due to the brutal honesty, diversity, seamless production and exciting features this is one of my favourite albums released this year. My top tracks are: “Special,” “Kill Bill,” “F2F,” “Nobody Gets Me,” “Snooze” and “Low.” What are yours? Let us know @hccarleton!