S.O.S album review

S.O.S+album+review

Noah Willis, Contributor

In 2017 SZA dropped an instant classic of an album called “CTRL”  that left fans wondering how she was ever going to be able to top that 14 song album with absolutely no skips, fast forward 5 years later and she’s definitely silenced those doubts. 

On Dec. 9, 2022 SZA  finally returned to give us her new album “S.O.S,” this album takes the listener on a roller coaster ride of emotions to say the least. We see SZA give us a deep dive into her mind and her intrusive thoughts during songs like track 2 “Kill Bill” where she mentions wanting to kill her ex and his girlfriend even though she still loves him or on track 16 “Special” where she mentions how she gave her heart to a loser and now due to that she feels like a loser. The track list contains 23 songs and is 1 hour and 8 minutes long with features from artists such as Travis Scott, Don Toliver, Phoebe Bridgers, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Throughout the album we see SZA’s emotions start to unravel as she goes through various highs and lows reminiscing about her love life and does all of this in a way that doesn’t bore the listener.

Unquestionably, it’s evident to see that SZA really tried something new with this album, she wasn’t shy to get even more personal than she has on other albums while also branching out into different genres for example the rock inspired track “F2F” and the pop punk inspired track “Gone Girl.” The way SZA doesn’t allow herself to be boxed into one type of genre and show her versatility on this album is incredible and really goes to show her evolution as an artist. All in all this 23 track album has absolutely 0 bad songs and is undoubtedly the best R&B/pop album of the year and a must listen.