“Saturn” – SZA

After a monumental year on the tail of SOS, SZA has officially dropped her latest track, “Saturn.” 

Initially, the song was teased in a MasterCard commercial/live performance during this year’s Grammy Awards (where she also took home three awards). On February 22, SZA unexpectedly released the full track along with different versions, including a live and sped-up version. 

Sonically, “Saturn” is gorgeous. Synths twinkle, swirl, and envelop like you are floating amongst the starry cosmic skies. The expansive chorus lifts you up and caresses you as you float away with SZA to the faraway planet. The song simply sounds like a sweet escape–like the promise of something better is really within reach. The harmonies are rich, warm, and melt away your worries. You can’t help but want to close your eyes and drift away for three minutes.

Similar to her 2020 song, “Good Days,” SZA searches for someplace better. On the celestial “Saturn,” SZA longs for peace and quiet on a lonely planet, and an escape from the anxieties that come with simply existing. She sings about being “sick of this head” of hers, and being paralyzed by intrusive thoughts. 

Everything back here on Earth is “terrible / Making us hysterical.” Simply put: she “hates it here.” There is no corner left to hide away on this planet; instead, the only hope is to float away to Saturn. This realness is refreshing, comforting, and highly relatable as the world descends a little bit more into chaos with each passing day. You can’t help but repeat the mantra for yourself: “None of this matters / Dreaming of Saturn.”

This could possibly be a hint of what is to come on her forthcoming record, Lana, which has been teased since the end of last year. And if so, it is an exciting and reassuring teaser from the follow-up to the excellent SOS (2022). With SZA, we know she loves to take her time with her work; yet, how can one argue with her methods when she produces a track as beautiful as “Saturn.”