Worth the five year wait: SZA’s SOS

from The Huron Emery Volume 8 Issue 4 February 2023

It’s no “Game of Thrones,” but it’s still great

It had been over five years since singer SZA released her debut studio album “Ctrl”, produced by the Top Dawg Entertainment label — the label of names like Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad. The hype was real: “Ctrl” was the perfect debut album for SZA, full of passionate R&B vocals with a definite pop influence as well. As the years passed after “Ctrl”, SZA only released half a dozen songs. Then, suddenly, she announced “SOS.” On Dec. 9, 2022, it finally reached streaming services.

It’s hard to follow up an album like “Ctrl” over five years later — but SZA did just that.

“SOS” is damn near perfect in every way. From the more popfocused songs like “Kill Bill” that quickly soared up the Billboard 100, to more R&B-focused hidden gems like “Low”, “Seek and Destroy” and “Blind”, SZA proved patience is a virtue — and the wait was well worth it. This album excels as SZA goes out of her old style but also keeps a very familiar, easy-to-listen-to sound. Songs like “Conceited” perfectly show SZA’s way to fuse a new pop-esque production with her classic R&B sound used on “Ctrl. ” It’s extremely refreshing and remains the album’s strongest feature; to try a new sound and have it work is rare in pop music.

Another strong suit with the album is the features. “SOS” is not feature-heavy, with only four features. However, all four deliver and add to the songs — unlike many albums that use features to sell an album, SZA’s feature artists all add to the songs, especially Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine.” Bridgers and SZA are two sides of the same coin when it comes to superior songwriting. They both delivered on the track.

Travis Scott had a pretty great feature on “Open Arms”, as well. One song sticks out to me as my clear-cut favorite: “Seek and Destroy.” It’s lyrically about the best you can find. The “Seek and Destroy” metaphor carries throughout the song and the whole message of “SOS” in general (selfdestruction and its relation to love). If “SOS” didn’t already have a title track, this would most likely be it. Sonically, it has an addicting sound: the “I had to do it to you” repetitive hook is so catchy. If you’re looking for the perfect SZA song, look no further than “Seek and Destroy.” Finally, “SOS” hits the mark on consistency throughout the album. It’s difficult to be consistent through a 23-song album, and even though some songs are rather sleepy and repetitive towards the end, there are no bad or even mediocre songs. They’re all good. The main complaint with long albums like “SOS” comes from the fact that quality usually falls off near the end, or they’re full of filler songs — but this is not the case for “SOS.” SZA performed a rare feat that even hugely successful albums like Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” failed to do with a long, 20+ song album — keep quality throughout.

Overall, SZA’s “SOS” is a brilliant reminder that good things come with patience. Filled with sharp lyricism, easy-toenjoy production and SZA’s genre-bending style, there’s no doubt that SZA has well met the heavy expectations that the album was faced with, and an enjoyable listening experience for fans of any genre.