By Aydin Akyol
We are back again with even more SZA music for the new year! Once again, she was very indecisive and decided to release some tracks that her manager would not originally let her release. This extension is only 4 tracks but that is about how much an original deluxe extension should be in the first place. Let’s dive into this short review!
“Joni (Feat. Don Toliver)”2:08 (7/10)
This track has actually been unreleased for a few years now and SZA posted it on her SoundCloud a while back but never fully released it. It has a very nature-esque vibe to it and I feel that it definitely fits with this album rather than the original SOS or Ctrl. Don Toliver, who usually raps, did a good job blending his vocals into this song with a little bit of autotune but not to the point where it is annoying.
“Take You Down” 2:40 (10/10)
I am so happy that she added this song to the deluxe because she posted it on her Instagram as the first teaser for the deluxe album. When SOS was finally released, “Take You Down” was nowhere to be found on the tracklist and I was very disappointed.”This song has a very sly beat to it and I love how she is able to change tempo and express her vocals so smoothly throughout the song.”
“Open Arms” 3:36 (10/10)
I love a perfect, melodic ballad and SZA has done just that with this song. She has a very nice guitar riff playing throughout the song that complements a soft beat and bass to balance out everything. This song covers her personal struggles with herself and how she feels that she will always love others more than herself and needs to focus on loving herself as well before others. The true meaning that I took from this song is that it isn’t possible to love others properly until you are able to truly love yourself and I agree with that entirely.
“PSA” 1:40 (10/10)
I am very judgy when it comes to music and if anyone read my original Lana review, I only gave a couple songs on the album a 10/10 so the fact that I have given 3/4 songs on this extension a 10/10 is very impressive to me. This song is an interlude and I tend to think that interludes are a waste on the tracklist but this song made me realize that they are important for transitioning into different moods of an album. This song is very dreamy and has one of the most angelic production and backing vocals that I have ever heard.