In December of 2022, SZA broke a five year studio album hiatus with SOS, a multi-genre album which is heart wrenching, to say the least. In December of 2024, what feels like an early Christmas present to her fans, SZA released the deluxe version of her album, titled LANA.
The album opens with “No More Hiding,” which is a great song, but it’s not my personal favorite. Unlike the other songs on the album, I didn’t relate to it right away. Throughout the entire album, SZA shows off her ability to open up and be vulnerable to her audience. 15 additional songs stacked on top of the already chart-topping tracks of SOS are more than we could have asked for.
Currently trending on TikTok is a song like “Crybaby” a sorrowful ballad. In this song, SZA blames herself and sings “‘Cause all I seem to do is get in my way/Then blame you, it’s just a cycle, rinse, recycle.” Something that many young adults even today can unfortunately relate to. The song ends with a bit of a dry laugh with the lyrics “I know you told stories about me/Most of them awful, all of them true.”
My favorite song to come out of this album was “Drive” where SZA sings over a guitar which seems to be about the anxiety that surrounds her under all the layers of LANA. SZA begins the song with “I been out til’ midnight, drivin’ to nowhere/Bumpin a slow song, can’t get my head clear” Throughout this track, SZA “drives” through her self-doubt and loathing as she sings “I keep pretending’ everyone’s as good as me/Sh*ts so weird, I cannot speak/Balled so hard, I think I peaked” This song makes you feel like you’re trapped in the same situation she is.
The feel of LANA is a little different from what Ctrl felt like. Ctrl is the definition of indie R&B, while LANA feels more like a pop R&B album, although the R&B brings the two together. Overall, SZA absolutely outdid herself with this deluxe version, which was nothing short of what I expected.
