The SOS album touches on themes of the self
With hits like “Kill Bill” reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100 or “Nobody Gets Me” peaking at number 10, SZA’s sophomore album “SOS” has captivated audiences with a chokehold on many R&B fans like me.
In this album SZA explores themes of self-doubt, insecurity and newfound freedom after a relationship. The themes from this album are expressed in a catalog of 23 songs that range from Rap to Punk Rock or ’90s Hip-Hop to Reggae. SZA broke from the norms of today’s music scene that are conformed to pop music to provide an experience unlike any other.Some songs from the album that I find myself playing more often than the rest have been “F2F,” “Low” and “Far.”
“F2F” provides a unique flare to “SOS” with being the only song on the album that explored the Punk Rock genre. Listening to this song created a nostalgic feeling that took me back to simpler times when Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco and My Chemical Romance were all the craze. This song is an expression of someone having lingering feelings after a breakup and that resentment towards them. The complex layers of instruments in the song correlate with what could be complex feelings one would have over an ended relationship.
As my second favorite song on the album, “Low” provides a trap-influenced chorus that gets you in the mood to dance. This song provided me with an unexpected confidence through a heavy beat and a sensation of being in the club. Its expressions of boundaries between a private romantic life and a public relationship say a lot about limits one must set with one’s partner.
“Far,” the final song I decided to write about, is one of the least streamed songs on the album but it’s also the song I feel the most connected to. This song is about feeling alone and being taken advantage of. SZA sings about what it feels like to be unrecognizable to yourself and the feeling of changing who you are for someone else. The song begins with a conversation between SZA and Sadhguru, the leader of the Isha Foundation, talking about rejection. When I heard Sadhguru tell SZA “If nobody wants you, you’re free,” I intuitively knew this song was going to be my favorite one.
Overall, I am absolutely in love with “SOS.” With this album I expect SZA to win numerous awards for the upcoming award season. She has proven herself to be a generational talent and someone with a wide range of skills in her pocket. I highly recommend listening to her album because the experience she has created is like no other.