Ctrl

Preface: This is an album I have already listened to, and I am re-listening to it as part of my 75 Hard Challenge.

This was the first album I ever truly fell in love with as an entire body of work, front-to-back. This was also my introduction into the world of R&B, particularly alternative R&B, and I haven’t looked back since. This album has followed me through most of my adolescence into adulthood. Every time I listen to it, I come at it with a new perspective, and every time, a different song stands out to me. Lately, I have been feeling Go Gina, Pretty Little Birds, and 20 Something. This album just gets more and more interesting and relevant as time goes on, and the deluxe songs just add another layer to that.

The way SZA writes is so raw and upfront, and I really like that. I’m not a super huge fan of useless metaphors and word salad a la, “he stuck his long wood into my redwood forest…,” and while SZA skips all of that bullshit, she still finds a way to express herself poetically. On Ctrl, she lyrically encapsulates what relationships in your 20s feel like in such a candid way. It’s beautiful; it’s messy; it’s heartbreaking; it’s hopeful; it’s horny. It captures every little feeling down to the regret that comes when your Saturn returns at 27. That is, when you can understand what she is saying. Over the years, I have become fluent in Szanese. After almost 10 years, this album sounds as fresh as it did the day it was released. This is one of those albums that has and will continue to stand the test of time. Every time I listen to it front to back, I discover a new sound or instrumental I hadn’t noticed before, making for a different experience every time.