The rise of SZA, while a fairly slow burn, has been incredible to witness. Debuting in 2017 with R&B Bible ‘Ctrl’, followed by successful features on ‘What Lovers Do’ by Maroon 5, ‘Homemade Dynamite’ by Lorde, and most notably ‘Kiss Me More’ with Doja Cat, SZA has cemented herself as an icon in both the Pop and R&B genres. Therefore, the hype and fanfare surrounding her sophomore album ‘SOS’ was incredibly widespread.
While the title track and first track ‘SOS’ is a fantastic mood setter for the album, the real genius of the record starts with the standout hit ‘Kill Bill.’ Fantasizing over the murder of her ex-boyfriend, SZA effectively interpolates the plot of the ‘Kill Bill’ movies while creating a new set of lyrics that describe both her jealousy and insecurities. She exhibits her own dark, twisted, and homicidal fantasies with a touch of relatability that made it an instant hit. The beat behind the song is fairly inoffensive and muted, sounding straight out of a horror movie, allowing her sinister lyrics and spiraling vocals to shine throughout the song.
That said, the incredible artistry doesn’t end there. Perhaps the most experimental song on the album, ‘F2F’ evokes the 2000’s pop-rock of artists like Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson with a higher degree of sexuality than other songs of the genre. The lyrics of ‘F2F’ match perfectly with the themes of the album, while serving as more proof that SZA can easily blend and move genres without any song feeling out of place. While those lyrics are not as strong as other places, the exploration of different genres on the song makes up for it in a very big way as do the instrumental and the production.
Of course, ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘F2F’ are not the only strong songs on the album. ‘Low’, ‘Nobody Gets Me’, and ‘Ghost in the Machine (featuring Phoebe Bridgers)’ are all outstandingly strong and enjoyable.
However, while this album is almost perfect, it does fall into the same trap as Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers’ in that it is incredibly too long. ‘SOS’ clocks in at 1 hour and 8 minutes with 23 songs, which would be fine if every song was consistent. Songs such as ‘Notice Me’, ‘Smoking on my Ex Pack’, ‘Blind,’ and ‘Forgiveness (feat. Ol’ Dirty Bastard)’ add length to the album without giving it anything else of value. These songs aren’t necessarily bad, just much worse than anything else in the track list.
SZA, while early in her career, continues to set the bar higher and higher for herself. For most other artists, there would be cause for concern that they couldn’t meet those expectations. However, SZA has proven that she will continue and even improve on her fantastic flow, lyricism, experimentalism, and all-around great artistry. ‘SOS’ has defied the “sophomore slump” trend, and is likely to propel SZA into even greater success in the pop and R&B genres.
4.5/5 Stars
