Track Review: SZA, “Shirt”

After teasing the song at the end of her “Good Days” music video an eternity ago, SZA has finally unleashed “Shirt.” Few songs have lived as many lives as “Shirt” has before its release. The track has been performed live, at one point Doja Cat was confirmed to be a featured artist, and it even spawned a viral TikTok trend when it was still known as “Bloodstain.” Nonetheless, it’s here.

Written alongside Rodney Jerkins and Freaky Rob, “Shirt” finds SZA in a space far removed from the “Good Days” she sang about a year ago. On “Shirt,” SZA revels in the darkness of her confusion and sins. “Comfort in my sins and all about me / All I got right now / Feel the taste of resentment,” she sings. SZA has always been unafraid to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion, and, here, she’s diving headfirst into bitterness, where it stems from, and the impact it has on her psyche.

Pounding drums anchor “Shirt” and its atmospheric background vocals while simultaneously evoking the intensity of emotions in the throes of a breakup. It’s a jagged and aggressive instrumental that isn’t concerned with sanitizing or beautifying the messiness and complexity of loss. After all, SZA sings that although she “can’t cry about the shit she can’t change,” she still “feels lost but she likes it.” The sparseness of the production avoids feeling hollow thanks to SZA’s incredible knack for infectious melodies. Her verses mirror the space between each drum kick, while the chorus dances in time with each stab of the bass.

“Shirt,” like “Good Days,” “Hit Different,” and “I Hate U" before it, is another homerun for SZA. Seriously, when is this album coming?

Score: 73