SZA Finds Beauty in Despair on Lush Song ‘Saturn’: Single Review
SZA has long been known to make fans play the waiting game, which is why the release of “Saturn,” the single that she debuted in a Mastercard commercial during the Grammy Awards, is a welcome if not unexpected surprise.
The singer-songwriter, who’s famously spoken about her perfectionism in creating music, has been careful to release new projects and singles throughout her career. She staged a five-year gap between her 2017 debut album “Ctrl” and its follow-up “SOS,” which inevitably became a blockbuster release that broke chart records and earned her three Grammys at the ceremony earlier this month.
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So when the 34-year-old announced “Lana,” fans weren’t sure what to think. She’d previously spoken to Variety about how the record would take shape, arriving as either a deluxe edition of “SOS” or its own standalone project. In August, she said that “Lana” would be “a whole new project,” consisting of outtakes and leftovers from “SOS.” And just a month later, she performed a free concert in Brooklyn where she announced the album as a standalone featuring seven to 10 songs, and that it would arrive in the fall. At that same show, she performed three unreleased songs referred to fans as “Boy From South Detroit,” “DTM” (or “Diamond Boy”) and “Saturn.”
Then, of course, in December, she teased a series of photos that could potentially serve as album covers for the project, signaling what many interpreted as its imminent arrival. But, months later and “Lana” is yet to arrive. Which is why “Saturn,” which unexpectedly landed on streaming services in a bundle package today, may speculatively suggest that “Lana” isn’t that far off. (Though don’t hold your breath—SZA makes her own rules.)
If “Saturn” is a holdover from “SOS,” and is indeed slated for inclusion on “Lana,” then it’s quite possible that there’s more to the lush, textured aesthetic of the album. SZA released “Saturn” as a bundle, including the studio version of the song alongside the Mastercard live performance, a sped-up rendition, an acapella and instrumental. It’s SZA in classic SZA form, singing of the despair and helplessness plaguing the world at large and setting it against rich, enveloping production. “Saturn” is dreamy and hazy, her cherry-sweet vocals providing a buoyant levity to the lyrics’ dark tones.
“Saturn” is an at-home addition to the pantheon of SZA’s mercurial discography, echoing the full-bodied mellifluousness of songs like “Good Days” and “Snooze.” Her ability to survey and interpret despondency through her music is what made “SOS” at times so compelling, and it’s a thread that continues to be expertly woven through subsequent work. Those considering “Saturn” as a warm-up for “Lana” may be in luck—maybe not—but it’s yet again a reminder of the fact that no matter how long it takes, SZA is nothing if not consistent.
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