SOS: Album Review

After a long five-year wait, SZA has finally dropped her return album called SOS. SZA’s previous album, Ctrl, is a fan favorite and praised, which meant that her new album had a lot to live up to.  According to all the reviews and ratings of the album critics, the expectations were met. The album, standing at an hour and eight minutes, holds up surprisingly well. It is only at the second song of the album that most of the listeners will find what many consider is the best song on the entire album, called “Kill Bill”. The song is already at over 200 million streams and is being played everywhere, Despite the song’s popularity, the rest of the album doesn’t drop in quality. Songs like “Low”, “Blind”, “Open Arms”, and others are also adored by the fans. With a 23-song tracklist, the album has some diversity. Many listeners, including myself, went into the album expecting a full pop album, but the actual experience proved me wrong. The album’s style ranges across several genres, such as rap, r&b, pop, and even, oddly, punk rock. No matter which genre SZA chose, the fans loved it. Despite all of the love that the album is receiving, which it does deserve, there is a significant flaw in the album; the album is way too long. At twenty-three songs long, the album does get a little boring at times. The pacing was definitely lacking at some points. There are several songs that were clearly added just to increase the runtime of the album that did not contribute to the album at all. In my personal opinion, songs like “Conceited”, “Notice Me”, and a few more were added just to increase the playtime. At times while listening, I felt the album dragged out a little bit, but I was reassured by the good songs I heard. Overall, I enjoyed the album and I plan to relisten to it more, and I’d recommend it to anyone because I can guarantee that there is at least one song on the album that anyone would enjoy.