Ctrl

Yes, contemporary R&B may be in the middle of comedown of its popularity (especially in Europe) but that does not mean there are no new solid records within this genre. And SZA's 2017 debut album, Ctrl, is a wonderful example. Solána's vocals are beautiful, lyrics are honest, and the production is, unlike a good deal of other R&B releases, elaborate (but not overproduced) and cohesive (but not monolithic). And with no doubt, Ctrl is one of the best R&B albums of the 2010s.

I always knew there is a singer called SZA, but I did not really know any of her music. I classified her as one of those new R&B singers, next to Kehlani, H.E.R., Jhené Aiko etc., whose music has never really impressed me, although I started to enjoy contemporary R&B in recent year quite a lot. But in the middle of this January boredom, I decided to give a try to SZA's debut studio album, and also so far the only studio album.

And after the first listen, I was amazed. Although the sound of neo-soul, which is present in nearly every second of this album, felt familiar, as it is quite common in present-day urban releases, Ctrl is a completely different level. It was similar in the case of vocals. As this genre demands strong and confident vocal performances, I expected I am gonna face it at this album, but again, I liked SZA's specific work with her vocals, her accent, and her voice in general. Simply, Ctrl sounded like I expected, but the level of that sound was much higher than I ever dreamt.

The album opens with "Supermodel", a guitar-driven minimalist track where SZA shows her wonderful vocals. Two wonderful tracks, "Love Galore" and "Doves In the Wind", follow. Exploring love and sexuality, the former track features Travis Scott and the latter features Kendrick Lamar. These two tracks are definitely two of my favourite collaborations of all time, especially the second one. The ride continues with "Drew Barrymore" and "Prom" which are (also) one of my favourite tracks of the album. "The Weekend" is the album's iconic single, while "Go Gina" features an ear-worm chorus. Although "Garden" and "Broken Clocks" remain the least memorable tracks for me at this album, I see them as growers (in fact, I see this genre in general as a grower). The track which follow, "Anything" and "Normal Girl" are musical fairy tales again. "Petty Little Birds" is a time to chill out before the album's closing track, "20 Something", which is also one of my favourites and honestly, I have no chance to understand why it was not released as a single.

Never thought I would ever consider myself a fan of one of those new R&B artists, but SZA maybe changed it with Ctrl. If I should call this album by one word, "masterpiece" would be the word. Also, SZA hinted she might be releasing her new album soon. Let's hope it's coming this year, I am already excited. And also ... let's hope it'll be as good as Ctrl.

DETAILED RATING:
- Supermodel (8/10)
- Love Galore (10/10)
- Doves In the Wind (10/10)
- Drew Barrymore (10/10)
- Prom (10/10)
- The Weekend (9/10)
- Go Gina (9/10)
- Garden (8/10)
- Broken Clocks (9/10)
- Anything (10/10)
- Wavy (Interlude) (8/10)
- Normal Girl (10/10)
- Pretty Little Birds (8/10)
- 20 Something (10/10)

TOTAL SCORE: 92 / 100 (outstanding)