Any/All
I actually think this is such a massive improvement over Ctrl that it makes the former sound a bit tame in comparison? When I read comments about this album, I actually think they are largely owing to the fact that in the age of streaming we are used to this idea of art by demand, albums that cater to our needs, series that fit our genre expectations, music that serves as a dumping grounds for our own projections. The absolutely idiotic claims about the lyrics being "toxic" (the album is fucking called SOS, it's supposed to come off as a cry for help) and SZA not showcasing musical growth (while F2F and Ghost in the Machine are right there)... I don't know, there seems to be a lot of demand that music should fulfil a particular role, and not quite as lot of listening to it for what it is.
That's why I admire SOS in its uncompromising rawness and honesty so much. I love that she didn't go for giving people what they wanted, but for expressing what she needed to express. In doing that, I don't even think she does it in a particularly obscure or unfriendly way, pretty much all the soundscapes are very listener-friendly, especially considering the weight and depth of the material. There are moments when the lyrics I catch on make me feel slightly uncomfortable, because they refer to the emotions I have myself experienced, but never voiced because they were deemed improper. In a world so obsessed with sterilized self-imaging and narcissistic "self-care" this kind of rawness is not just welcome, but even a bit subversive in the subtlest of ways. To me it sounds like a beacon of hope and a reminder that humans are ugly, flawed and chaotic, but their emotions are nevertheless real and can give birth to something beautiful.
That's why I admire SOS in its uncompromising rawness and honesty so much. I love that she didn't go for giving people what they wanted, but for expressing what she needed to express. In doing that, I don't even think she does it in a particularly obscure or unfriendly way, pretty much all the soundscapes are very listener-friendly, especially considering the weight and depth of the material. There are moments when the lyrics I catch on make me feel slightly uncomfortable, because they refer to the emotions I have myself experienced, but never voiced because they were deemed improper. In a world so obsessed with sterilized self-imaging and narcissistic "self-care" this kind of rawness is not just welcome, but even a bit subversive in the subtlest of ways. To me it sounds like a beacon of hope and a reminder that humans are ugly, flawed and chaotic, but their emotions are nevertheless real and can give birth to something beautiful.
