Oh my God. Hi everyone. Boothony Bootano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of the new SZA SOS Deluxe project, Lana.

She is back, and finally delivering what's been promised. The famed pop and RnB singer/songwriter who has been on quite the meteoric rise as of late, as if she wasn't already huge. But I think there's most definitely been a big difference in terms of exposure between what we could call the pre and post-SOS eras of SZA's career.

Obviously, 2017's CTRL was one of the biggest slow-burning successes in RnB of the 2010s, and it's a record that just seemed to gain more love and momentum with each passing year, especially as fans were getting more and more impatient for the arrival of a new album.

The eventual follow-up SOS did drop in 2022. It felt like a lifetime of waiting, but it was very much worth the wait, at least in my opinion.

Now, since the release of that album, there's been a lot of valid debate around whether or not SZA outdid herself on that record, but I think there are a lot of ways in which she really stepped it up on this one. She gave us hits on this record, big quality hits like "Snooze" as well as "Kill Bill". She also covered a broader spectrum of genres and musical vibes on this LP, gave us more intimate and stunning vocal performances. She rapped and unearthed a sick ODB feature, collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers as well and smashed it.

Thematically on the record, SZA also dug into some serious personal insecurities. SOS was doing a lot. I get that CTRL is a tough record to beat, for sure. But SZA really did something special on SOS, even if, instrumentally speaking, the vibes are a bit too mellow and acoustic for some.

Now, for a while, Well, SZA has been promising a deluxe edition of this album, which is obviously a massive trend these days when it comes to major releases. However, when they do happen, it's almost immediately after the original release of the album, and the additional tracks mostly feel like leftovers that we didn't really need. In true SZA fashion, she has instead decided to give us the deluxe edition of this album two years after its release. It's actually 15 additional tracks, which unto itself feels like an additional album being added to the SOS album, which sure is a bit excessive, but I can see the vision.

I mean, I think if she dropped Lana as its own entirely separate thing in the time span that she did, a lot of fans and detractors alike would read the record as just being like an SOS part 2 or a repeat of SOS in terms of aesthetics and themes. I mean, the production and instrumentation are certainly very similar across both projects. Also, remember, SOS – it took a long time to get this project, and when we did eventually get it, it was just packed with tracks, almost to a fault. I'm not surprised to hear that there were maybe more songs hidden away or song ideas in the SZA vault, even after everything from SOS came out.

Because, again, a lot of what we hear on Lana feels like a continuation of the original SOS record. What do I mean by that? It means that SZA on this album is continuing to write songs that are emotionally charged, are revealing, are really putting a lot of her flaws and bad ideas and fuck-ups on play, the moments where her desires and her inner voice is beating her best judgment.

The whole opening track, for example, "No More Hiding", is more of a diatribe than it is a song. SZA across this track is ripping with some very tense vocal leads paired with some spacey synthesizers and plucky guitar arpeggios. She's just going on and on on this track about being inauthentic, wanting to go mask off. While it's not my favorite track on the record, musically, I will say it is a good tone setter in terms of setting us up for what we're about to hear SZA really dig into lyrically.

After this track, though, the bangers, the sharp writing, and the jaw dropping admissions begin to roll in because we have the track "What Do I Do", which, musically speaking, is like a dreamy smooth 2000s RnB throwback. Sounds pretty standard for that style, but it's still very much quality. The whole story of the track is SZA's significant other calling her on accident, and when this call happened, he just so happened to be having sex on the other end of the phone, to which she says, "Too late, it'll never be the same again." Which, yeah, it's a bit of an understatement, that's putting it lightly. She manages to work this insane occurrence into a buttery smooth chorus that's actually catchy despite the trauma fueling it.

Following this, we have "30 for 30" featuring Kendrick Lamar. A lot of you may remember that recently, SZA and Kendrick crossed over again on Kendrick's GNX record for the song "Luther", which was fantastic. "30 for 30" is another W for both of them, too. In some pockets of this track, SZA actually gets more aggressive than Kendrick does, and intentionally so, as I feel like working with SZA usually allows Kendrick to plug into his more mellow and melodic side. Still, on this thing, we get infectious choruses like, "That's the way I like it." And SZA's opening verse on the track is hilarious with her calling out to chat like she's a fucking Twitch streamer. ("Chat. Should I fold this bitch no yoga mat? Chat!") And again, I love those elongated notes that she holds at the end of various lines on the track.

But yeah, there's so many great vocal lines and quotables across this track. It's actually ridiculous how good it is.

Following this, "Diamond Boy" is a sleek sex jam complete with finger snaps as well as soaring lead vocals, and it's just got a great intoxicating feel to it. On a deeper read of the lyrics, though, SZA just comes across as being obsessed with this guy. She's showcasing that interest in a myriad of ways, but simultaneously, she's seeking some assurance that she's not doing too much or coming across weird, which again circles back to that insecurity that seems to be at the core of a lot of the songs that she writes.

The track "BMF", though, I feel like I could take or leave. It's like an indie pop summer jam from the early 2010s with very crushy lovey-dovey bars. For the most part, it's fine. It's not really a sound or a style I'm crazy about personally, regardless of who is doing it, but I guess it's cool that SZA can pull it off.

Meanwhile, "Scorsese Baby Daddy" is another guitar-driven cut, though this one is a bit grittier and chillier, more nerve-wracked, with SZA once again finding herself at a point of worry over a love connection, over a relationship, making mention as well of being afraid that she's gotten pregnant at one point. I mean, she really does prove the proclamation of her being addicted to the drama with her saying almost in a celebratory way that she has a new reason to spiral out.

"Love Me For Me" continues the deluxe edition of this record's themes of wanting to be perceived and understood authentically. It goes on a bit of a musical odyssey, too, with a bossa nova switch up around the midpoint, which was unexpected but still cool.

And while "Chill Baby" was one of the shorter tracks here that didn't really leave a strong impression, we do move into a relatively relatively strong last leg, with "My Turn" being a bold, in your face, heartbreak anthem, where SZA is doing the heartbreaking. Because after all, it is her turn, as it says on the track.

After this, we have "Crybaby", where she is embracing a bit of an old-school soul type sound, which her singing style marries very well with. It's a whole vibe that is done very tastefully, despite the production still coming across as very modern.

"Kitchen" brings things in a dreamy soft rock, almost rock type direction, which again is another vibe that I didn't expect her vocals to work so well in, and yet it does.

While "Drive" may not have one of the best tunes or song structures on the album, in my opinion, SZA uses these repetitive cords and extra space to really go off vocally and showcase her range, her abilities, how much emotion she can really pack into a performance. If you're going to give yourself a song this loose, I feel like ultimately that should be the point, and she accomplishes is at least that goal on this track for sure.

Then finally, the very twinkly, "Saturn" has a sound to it that most definitely is in line with its astrological inspirations. SZA feels stressed and terrorized and at a place of disbelief with life. She just seems to be looking for some answer or reprieve in relation to that. Is it karma? Is it something greater than me? Can I escape to another universe to get away from all of this? The tune is solid, but I feel like the continually dreamy production across this entire album tends to make a lot of these tracks blend together more than I would have liked them to, even if the emotions feeling these tracks are very much real.

But yeah, Lana, overall, I thought, wasn't necessarily as strong a statement as SOS, but still a good additional project overall. Some good SOS afterthoughts, a few of which actually go toe to toe or outdo some of the best cuts on SOS, in my opinion, which is why I'm feeling a decent two strong 7 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, SZA, Lana, forever.