“SOS Deluxe: LANA,” which I will now refer to as “LANA,” is a slightly confusing release due to its identity as a deluxe for an album that dropped over two years ago, consisting of 15 brand new songs which could’ve just belonged to their own album. Despite these choices, “LANA” is still a great album with some of SZA’s catchiest material to date.
The sixth track, “Scorsese Baby Daddy,” is one of the most replayable songs on the album, with some thick percussion and absurdly plucky acoustic guitar passages. SZA’s vocal performance on this track is a stand-out as she layers multiple takes of her singing over each other, which gives the song a fuller feeling.
“Kitchen” is an absolute earworm with one of the most addictive choruses SZA has ever written. It samples the Isley Brothers’ track, “Voyage to Atlantis,” in an incredibly effective way while combining that with small, twinkling synths that make this track nigh-impossible to get out of your head. Like a handful of SZA’s other songs, the lyrics on “Kitchen” dive into a toxic relationship that she was once in. She sings about having to choose between love or self-preservation and how it’s “so hard to do the right thing.”
The second-to-last track, “Another Life,” is easily one of the best on the album. The beat features heavy percussion and an incredibly catchy guitar riff. SZA’s lyrics delve into another relationship that she wishes could’ve turned out differently, saying, “In another life, I know we could ride out.” On most other albums, a song like “Another Life” would be the finisher, but for SZA, it’s just another track within the album.
Though not quite as thoughtful or expansive as “CTRL” or “SOS,” “LANA” is still another great album from SZA with some very catchy bops that won’t leave my music rotation for at least a couple months. More than anything, “LANA” is an exciting teaser for what SZA will do next.