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8.5/10
It's finally here. 5 years after the critically-acclaimed "best debut album of all time" 'Ctrl', R&B icon SZA finally comes through with an album release, and not just any regular album, but a 23-track experience.
This album starts off extremely strong. The opening track "SOS" begins with an eerie high pitched and echoey clicking noise which matches the vibe created by the oceanic album cover well. It goes into a gorgeous beat with group vocals layered on top of that. SZA's vocals and flow are wonderful as well, making this a short but sweet intro track at 1:57. Following this track is my personal favorite, "Kill Bill". SZA lyrically snaps on this record, not shying away from saying "I might kill my ex" (at least she admits it's not the best idea, though). This track contains a groovy and mysterious beat and a very catchy hook. SZA's flow on this track is also perfect; it's nonchalant and cool. I also noticed that SZA's vocals on this album are much more of a center point compared to her last. "Seek & Destroy" and "Blind" contain some of SZA's most beautiful high notes, and "Nobody Gets Me" offers this nostalgic-sounding old Taylor Swift twang to it in terms of production, and showcases SZA's diverse vocal ability. The track "Low" and "Smoking on my Ex Pack" also showcase SZA's ability to create a catchy rap track.
As far as features go on this album, it's iffy. Travis Scott, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Don Toliver's features are very much mediocre and forgettable. "Ghost in the Machine", a track containing the surprising feature of Phoebe Bridgers, is great, though. When I first heard the track, I honestly thought Phoebe didn't fit, but this is one that grows on you. SZA's vocals on this track are once again wonderful, and Phoebe's voice meshes with that piano so well.
Besides the forgettable features, there are some other moments of "meh" on this album. I felt that the three-track run of "Snooze", "Notice Me", and "Gone Girl" were a bit bland, along with the odd pop-punk track "F2F" that was slapped in the album. This is quickly recovered, however, by the beautiful "Nobody Gets Me", and vulnerable songwriting on "Special" (if you ignore the bland filler-sounding tracks "Conceited" and "Too Late"). The album ends decently well with some of SZA's quality singles that she dropped before the full album release.
This SZA album is shockingly consistent and high-quality for a 23-track project. SZA is obviously improving more as an artist, both technically and creatively. This is a great sign and I'm excited to see what the future holds for SZA.
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