After 5 years, SZA released her sophomore album SOS, on December 9, 2022. It followed her critically acclaimed album Ctrl, and everyone was excited to see what new music she was working on for so long. It features twenty-three songs, which is a lot more than Ctrl‘s fourteen. SZA is one of my favorite artists, and I was literally counting down the days until the release after she announced the album. I’ve been listening to it non-stop, and I’ve finally formed my opinions about each song and the album as a whole.
- “sos”
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This was a good album opener, and I feel like SZA did a good job at laying out all her emotions in this song, which really set the tone for how open and honest she’d be in this album, which is no surprise because she was candid in Ctrl, as well. The Beyoncé interpolation was a great addition, and so was adding the morse code for S.O.S. at the beginning of the song.
- “kill bill”
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SZA is a certified hitmaker, and this song is proof. It’s a great breakup song on the surface, and when you actually listen to the lyrics and think about it deeper, it has a super relatable message about feeling so attached to someone that you don’t feel whole if you can’t be with them, even though you know it’s not meant to be.
- “seek & destroy”
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This song falls somewhere in the middle for me. There are days I can’t stop listening to it and days that I skip over it. It has a great chorus and I’m obsessed with the bridge.
- “low”
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This song is so good, literally from beginning to end. The chorus is catchy and danceable, the beat is infectious, and the little speaking part at the end was a fun addition that makes the song even cooler. It’s my most played song out of the whole album, and SZA’s lower register also adds another fun dynamic to the song.
- “love language”
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With this one, I love the verses more than the chorus. Overall, it’s a nice slow R&B song, which is SZA’s specialty. It has a nice little vibe to it, and I love the violin in the background.
- “blind”
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SZA has a habit of officially releasing songs after fans repeatedly beg her to (it’s a recurring theme with this album, she has a lot of unreleased tracks), and this is one of those songs. The music itself is very minimal, and SZA’s vocals are the main focus. I find myself singing or listening to this one a lot.
- “used” (feat. don toliver)
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This song had to grow on me. I thought Don Toliver’s part wasn’t necessary, and it would’ve sounded better with a different feature or none at all.
- “snooze”
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I cannot begin to tell you how obsessed I am with this song. It’s written by Leon Thomas III (Andre from Victorious!), and I’ve loved his songwriting since his Victorious days. This song is top 5 for me; I love the lyrics and I love how relaxed the vibe of the song is. Aside from “Low”, this is also a song I play a lot.
- “notice me”
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“Notice Me” doesn’t get the hype it deserves. The whole song is catchy, not just the chorus. It caught my attention from beginning to end, and it’s so fun to jam to. I wish it was a bit longer because it was just that good.
- “gone girl”
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This one took me a few listens to get into, and now it never leaves my most played. I love the echoey, choir-like background singers towards the end; they help give the song that faraway feeling SZA is singing about. I love the lyrics and the whole overall slow-jam feel.
- “smoking on my ex pack”
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SZA took to rapping with this song, and it worked so well for her. It was a great way to shake up the album, and I didn’t feel like the song was long enough. I hope she decides to release another track like this in the future.
- “ghost in the machine” (feat. phoebe bridgers)
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When SZA released the tracklist and I saw she was collaborating with Phoebe, I was really excited to hear this song. Their voices and vibes aren’t two that you’d think pair well together, but they made it work so well. You can easily tell which parts of the song they had a hand in producing and writing for, and the soft synth of everything definitely pushed this song up into my top 10.
- “f2f”
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SZA stepped a bit into the pop rock/pop punk genre here. I loved the chorus; it’s super catchy and the heavy guitar and drum were a nice, fun switch from SZA’s usual R&B. If she ever decides to do a remix, I’d love to see her invite Hayley Williams from Paramore to sing with her. This is another one in my top 10!
- “nobody gets me”
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I’m a sucker for a good sad song, especially one I can relate to. SZA did such a great job at explaining how it feels when only one person can understand you, and then how it feels when you’re not close to them anymore. This song has some of her best songwriting to date.
- “conceited”
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This one was forgettable to me. It doesn’t really stick out, and it might even be my least favorite on the album. It’s skippable and doesn’t have a strong place among the rest of the album.
- “special”
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Like “Nobody Gets Me”, this is one of my favorites because of how emotional and relatable it is. She sings about how she gave all of herself to someone who didn’t appreciate her, and now she feels distant from the girl she used to be. She wants to be seen as someone who is just as pretty and amazing as everyone else seems to be. You can really pick up on the hurt in her voice, which makes it even better.
- “Too late”
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I’m obsessed with the way the beat picks up from the verses into the chorus. This song is fun, but I wish it didn’t feel so repetitive and we got a little bit more from it.
- “far”
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I think this one is super underrated. The production of “Far”, is really good and doesn’t get enough appreciation. I love the meaning behind the song.
- “shirt”
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This one is not my favorite. I think I may have just listened to it too much when she first released it as a single, and I also just think it doesn’t hold as strong of weight compared to the other songs. I still like it, and it’s a good song, but it’s sort of lackluster in my opinion. The beat is nice, and it’s a cool song, but I tend to skip it.
- “open arms” (feat. travis scott)
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To me, this song was really good…until Travis’ verse came around. This was super disappointing to me, especially because I loved their collaboration on “Love Galore”. He didn’t ruin the song, but he also didn’t make it better. I think she could’ve gone without him, but it’s still a good song nonetheless.
- “i hate u”
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Fans begged SZA to officially release this after it gained popularity on TikTok, and I’m so glad she did. The lyrics are straight-to-the-point, and the lo-fi, jazzy feel of the music is an interesting contrast to how harsh and cutting the actual song is.
- “good days”
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I loved this song since she released it as a single. It’s so soft, melodic, and calming, and I love how smooth it feels. Her vocals are really at the forefront rather than the actual music, and she does a great job at making you feel almost like you’re floating when you’re listening to the song. The song is a perfect motivator, and such a good song to listen to when you want to wind down.
- “forgiveless” (feat. ol’ dirty bastard)
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Just like “Conceited”, I tend to skip this song a lot, and I forget it’s even on the album. However, I do like it a lot more than “Conceited”, and I find myself bopping my head to it from time to time. I wish she had a stronger song to close out the album with, especially because her opener was so good.
Overall, I loved this album. SZA is one of my favorite artists, and SOS definitely lived up to the praise that Ctrl got (although no songs on her second album will ever top Drew Barrymore for me). Aside from a few songs that weren’t memorable, and some features that should’ve been bypassed or replaced with someone else, this was a great album. It’s been on a loop for me since it was released, and my fingers are crossed that she’ll release an extended or deluxe edition of the album with new songs. She posted an idea board with a list of several different artists she was considering collaborating with (Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, and Olivia Rodrigo just to name a few), and maybe she’ll hit them up for special editions of songs if we’re lucky enough. This album is good enough to get SZA a Grammy nomination, and hopefully, the Academy agrees.