#472: Ctrl [SZA, 2017]

Weird album name. On her debut album, SZA just needs to vent about men. She cheats on her ex on Supermodel, is in a poly relationship on The Weekend and worries about maintaining a boyfriend with her superstar lifestyle on Go Gina and Broken Clocks. We can all relate. But seriously, SZA is charmingly neurotic. She worries about only being appreciated for her sexual prowess on Normal Girl, and on Garden (Say it Like Dat), she asks her boyfriend to lie about still finding her attractive. The production on Ctrl can be great, like on the soaring, string-soaked Drew Barrymore, and it transitions from Aphex Twin-esque twinkly synth lines to gentle acoustic strumming on a whim. But for some reason, the producers are also willing to drown out SZA’s gorgeous voice with overloud bass. SZA uses her trademark seductive slur to great effect on this album, but she’s not here to arouse you. In fact, on Doves in the Wind, she’s sick of men and sex entirely, and considers retiring alone with a dildo. In a world of neuroses and asshole men, SZA is looking for just one thing: control. So that’s why it’s called that! 4/5.