The album “Ctrl” was released by Solána Imani Rowe, more commonly known as SZA. Rowe released this album in the beginning of June 2017. This was Rowe’s second album and was the more popular of the two. Unlike her other albums, “Ctrl” skyrocketed Rowe to the top of the charts, getting to the top 200 when it debuted. In the first week of its streaming, “Ctrl” received 49.5 million listens. This album made her very popular in the alternative R&B community.
The fourth track on the album is “Drew Barrymore.” “Drew Barrymore” is a song about feeling insecure and wanting to be accepted. Rowe wishes she were as cool as American actress Drew Barrymore. During this song, Rowe goes through many emotions and portrays that with her voice. She changes her tone many times and you can feel the emotion she is going through by the ways she delivers her lyrics. It is easy to relate to the song because everyone can sometimes feel insecure. It reminds me that it is okay to be myself.
The next song is called “Broken Clocks,” which is a slow song about finding comfort in a routine. Rowe talks about being exhausted by her routine and her daily life just going around doing the same thing every day, but she also finds comfort in this routine. This not only provides her comfort, but also stability in knowing what is to come. This is expressed especially when towards the end of the song she sings, “I don’t wanna, don’t need nobody.” She is saying she doesn’t need anyone, but herself and her routine. Overall, I can relate to this song because being in a constant routine is very comforting to me.
The last song is “Prom.” This song is about wanting someone from afar. Rowe talks about how she can picture herself and the person together and imagines them going to prom together. Most of this song is about longing for something that is not real. This song captures the feeling that almost everyone has had when they imagine a life that they might have had or that they want.
This album, blended with its many sounds and serenades, perfectly combines to make the album, “Ctrl.” Overall, I think this is one of the best R&B albums that have come out in the past couple of years. I would give this album a ten out of ten. Rowe knew to step up her game from her last album and delivered. Anyone looking to get into SZA should listen to this album as I would 100% recommend it.
