After a year-long wait and multiple delays, SZA finally released “LANA.” This highly anticipated collection of songs was issued as the deluxe version of her sophomore studio album, “SOS,” two years after its original release. In my opinion, it was well worth the wait.
Singer-songwriter Solána Imani Rowe, known by the stage name SZA, released “SOS” in December 2022. Not to be dramatic, but it changed my life. Hearing this profound testament to self-fulfillment, inner peace and comfort in solitude set to contemporary R&B towards the end of my adolescence made my 18-year-old self feel like she was ready to enter this new era of adulthood.
This record-breaking album was a natural progression from SZA’s debut album, “CTRL,” which focuses on balancing insecurity with self-love. “SOS” combines themes of heartbreak, shame and acceptance to emphasize the power we have over our own lives.
“LANA” is a compilation of B-sides, featuring a mix of songs that were left out of “SOS” as well as new songs written for this project. Named after SZA’s first tattoo and nickname, this album balances the raw vulnerability of “SOS” with a mature understanding of life’s nuances. Featuring 15 songs, with four additional tracks released on Feb. 9, SZA has stated that she views “LANA” as its own album.
SZA immediately distinguishes “LANA” and “SOS” as two separate projects through their cover art: The imagery of an isolated SZA in a vast sea is ditched in favor of bugs. This connection between “LANA” and bugs appears in the music video for “Drive,” where Ben Stiller portrays an overburdened SZA, while SZA herself appears as a nude, ethereal figure with a bug’s face. This seemingly random persona was first introduced in an episode of “Hot Ones,” where SZA simply said, “I’m just tired of not being a bug.” As evidenced by this humorous facade, SZA is grappling with the meaning of her own existence and is embracing the smaller things in life that bring her comfort.
This absurdist imagery is paired with mature lyrics about discovering our place in life. “Saturn,” which was surprise-released on Feb. 22, 2024, balances SZA’s dissatisfaction with her life with a much broader sense of existentialism. SZA sings, “If there’s a point to being good / Then where’s my reward? / The good die young and poor / I gave it all I could.” SZA acknowledges that karma does not always pan out the way we would hope, and finds comfort in dreaming of another world where everything could be perfect. This song highlights the theme of acceptance and freedom emphasized throughout this album, as the realization that “nothing matters” seems to liberate SZA and push her to make her own meaning of life. SZA juxtaposes this reality-altering realization with rhythmic, high-pitched synthesizers, setting the tone for “LANA” as a whole.
The music of “LANA” has a much brighter and softer feel than the moody “SOS.” SZA overlays the upbeat instrumentals of “LANA” with more playful vocal lines, and cohesively blends a variety of different musical influences and genres into her R&B style. For example, “30 for 30 (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” opens with a spoken sample from “I call your Name” by the R&B/funk band Switch. This sample addresses “immature things” and “painful doubts and insecurities,” which SZA has outgrown. Similarly, SZA uses the melody from Antônio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova classic “The Girl from Ipanema” in “BMF,” recontextualizing this song associated with yearning to sing about a new love interest in her life.
This direct shift in style is representative of SZA’s growth as a person between “SOS” and “LANA.” While “SOS” focuses on her insecurities, “LANA” focuses on embracing her flaws as a part of her nature. “Special” from “SOS” focuses on SZA’s different insecurities regarding love. She sings, “Hate how you look at her, ’cause you never saw me / Like I was an art piece, like I was an ordinary girl.” This insecurity and desire to feel special is addressed in a new light in “LANA,” in “Another Life,” where she sings, “Done tryna be your favorite / Done tryin’ to fit your template.” Rather than chastising herself for everything she wishes she could be, she embraces her uniqueness and focuses on everything she is.
This self-awareness is also reflected in how she sings about behaviors she holds less pride in. In “Kitchen,” she sings, “Cursing you solvеs all my problems / Vacationing in rock bottom, back again.” While singing about her own tendency to return back to lovers, SZA is accompanied by softer instrumentals similar to those present in “Saturn,” once again acknowledging her own cognitive dissonance.
“LANA” is the perfect sequel to “SOS,” painting a picture of SZA’s journey towards self-love. While the music for this album is much more laid-back than her usual work, the amount of passion and dedication that she puts into every song is evident. “LANA” closes the wounds which “SOS” revealed, and effortlessly untangles the web of insecurities and shame that created “CTRL” and “SOS.” “LANA’s” incredibly profound lyrics and stunning music make it a perfect addition to SZA’s discography.