Ctrl

It’s been a few months since I first listened to SOS and LANA, and I’ve been really into SZA since then, so it’s about time I finally got to SZA’s debut album.

I definitely enjoyed CTRL upon a first listen, but it took me a couple listens for it to really hit for me. I don’t wanna make like direct comparisons to SOS, but while I think it is overall stronger, CTRL’s much more of a ‘All Killer No Filler’ deal where even if it’s highs aren’t higher it doesn’t have any of the lows and is really consistent. What CTRL also has over SOS in my eyes is that it kinda opened me up to a lot of the reasons I enjoy SZA and her music.

Like firstly, the production, it just is, really soothing. Like there’s kinda this transcendent nature to it, where no matter the sound direction the track is going for, from something more traditionally RnB to Trap-based to even inheriting some of the Pop Disco stylings of her earlier works, it’s just able to put me at ease, like a lullaby but cooler and a little more melancholic and maybe a bit gayer. And I think especially the production is really good at complementing SZA’s vocals.

I don’t know how it took me 3 whole albums to realize this fully but like, God SZA’s vocals are incredible. It’s just powerful enough to be impactful without be overpowering or overbearing, and it just hits in all the right places, especially emotionally. And I think that last part really unlocked for me with this album thanks to its more reflective and reminiscent nature of SZA looking back on her past experiences, I can’t properly explain how it comes across in songs, but like, you can just hear it in her voice, if you get what I mean.

I also don’t think I really learnt to appreciate SZA as a writer till listening to this album. The fact that she apparently freestyled a lot of this album is wild because everything about it just feels so well thought out with the emotions conveying and the stories being told. But I think what really stuck out to me was how appealing and charismatic of a narrator she is of the stories she’s telling. No matter what I feel like I have to her side. Like, I’m sure she could write a version of Kill Bill where she justifies her actions and id fully agree with her, she’s that good 😭.

Like I said before, the tracklist here is really strong, so I’m just gonna spitball some of the tracks I liked the most. “Love Galore” is a really nice vibe, and I think Trav’s verse adds a surprisingly large amount. “Doves in the Wind” is a really good track about female empowerment, and Kendrick has a really funny verse on it too, definitely the best feature. “Drew Barrymore” is a really somber and personal track that I really love about SZA feeling insecure in a relationship. I love the empowering feelings of “The Weekend” and “Go Gina” too, especially “The Weekend” which spins a tale of some dude three timing, into the three girls he’s trying to play instead using him for what they want from him. “Broken Clocks” sounds incredible and has maybe the best chorus the whole album. “Normal Girl” is another one of the more heartbreaking songs, about well, just wanting to be a normal girl. And “20 Something” is a really nice track about having hope for your future. Yknow, when I was listening to this album, I kinda realized there wasn’t any real killer app, like there was in SOS and LANA with “Good Days” or “Saturn”, but then I did some thinking and then i made a realization, no actually, that’s “Pretty Little Birds”.

It’s so weird how much I resonate to the song, cuz like, it’s very much about relationship issues, and I have never been in a relationship, nor do I ever want to be in one. But i think what really enraptured me, was the image of the Pretty Little Birds, that SZA paints in the song. “You’ve hit the window a few times; You still ain’t scared of no heights” and “My Wings don’t spread how they used to; but I wanna fly with you” are lines I really resonate with, where no matter the shit you’ve went through, no matter how far you fall, you’re still standing strong. And I think it also really gets to the heart of what I, and so many people, love about SZA’s music, being able to love yourself, and love others, in spite of your insecurities and issues and bouncing back even stronger than before, because even at my Lois, I’m still a Family Guy. Isaiah Rashad is here too, I forgot about that😭, he’s pretty cool yeah.

In its totality, CTRL appears to be a story of loving yourself, and being able to continue loving yourself despite what life throws at you, in essence, retaining control, this the name. And SZA presents it to us so beautifully with some of the best music of its year, I love it.

5 Favourite Tracks:
Pretty Little Birds, Broken Clocks, Doves in the Wind, 20 Something, Love Galore

Least Favourite Tracks:
none

Best Features:
Kendrick Lamar (Doves in the Wind), Isaiah Rashad (Pretty Little Birds), Travis Scott (Love Galore)

Best 3 Track Run:
Normal Girl —> Pretty Little Birds —> 20 Something