REVIEW: SZA updates her work by adding even more quality

In Dec. 2022, after a five-year hiatus, SZA released a 23-track album titled “SOS.” This album depicts SZA’s emotionally complex journey juggling grief, self-doubt and love while she is simultaneously learning and inventing herself as a young adult.  

Two years later in Dec.2024, SZA re-issues SOS as a deluxe version, including 15 more tracks on the re-issue, titled “SOS Deluxe: LANA.” 

With these additional 15 tracks added to the original 23, the story woven into this album becomes richer. I think that this album can be properly enjoyed chronologically or shuffled, making the piece that much more interesting and versatile. 

Just like “SOS,” the “LANA” re-issue contains stray singles released in between albums like “Saturn,” however, the new tracks did not alter the original order, as they were just tacked on to the top of the track list, adding to the fact that this album can be enjoyed by the listener in many ways. 

While there is not an obligatory sequence of songs, like many classic R&B albums where some songs may flow into each other, the original album and re-issue exist on the same plane acoustically.  

Every song is an emotionally complex masterpiece, dealing with varied aspects of life, yet every song maintains the atmospheric, ambient, uniquely curated sound of this album. 

Looking at the producer credits, the re-issue involved way more names, especially of those who tend to be more avant-garde or experimental. This could explain some stylistic choices that make sonically evaluating this album as an R&B album unique. 

 “Another Life,” Track 14, opens with an 80s synth-wave-esque sound that is unusual for SZA, and the genre, but it fits within the sphere of this album’s sound. Although she clearly experimented with the new tracks, it is worth highlighting that SZA is no stranger to defying the R&B status quo. 

 “SOS” includes a feature from fellow queer and alternative artist, “Phoebe Bridgers,” 1/3 of boygenius, on “Ghost In The Machine.” 

“SOS” continues dabbling in the alternative genre with song ‘F2F’ which has an undeniable pop-punk cadence, and finally “BMF” on the re-issue which interpolates jazz classic “The Girl of Ipanema” popularized by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto.  

This innovative venture emphasizes SZA’s commitment to her art and improving it along with the general genre. 

Not to mention, in “To Summer, From Cole,” Cole says [rhetorically speaking, to Qalker]:  

“I’m sendin’ you, SZA, and Ari my love 

Y’all holdin’ us down 

Y’all holdin’ the crowns.” 

Referring to Summer Walker, SZA and Ari Lennox, Cole puts forward that these three artists are the ones keeping R&B fresh “holding it down,” because they are.  

At a time where many artists are clinging to single and EP releases, the lost art of a cohesive LP album does not go underappreciated. Since the mid 2010s, the use of streaming services has grown, effectively changing mass media and the spread of pop culture.  

Anyone that listens to rap or R&B regularly can see the steady decline in album releases over the years. With media outlets like VEVO, VH1 and even MTV no longer being preferred or easily accessible, there is a noticeable difference in the way music becomes popular to the general public.  

There is no longer a prescribed way to get mass attention. Many artists are now less inclined to produce full studio albums, they are much more likely to release singles or short EPs (typically six songs or less). 

 EPs and singles have a better chance of becoming viral on mass media and information sharing platforms like TikTok or the radio, especially if the artist is already established.  

There is a serious lack of quality, originality, and innovation in new R&B music, compared to the greats of the genre’s golden age in the 90’s with classics like Sade, Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, to name a few.  

Artists like SZA and Lennox effortlessly address the needs in this genre simply by actively defining their career and art for themselves.