Happy New Year and welcome back! It's been almost a month since our last standard issue. In that time, we covered the best music we missed and released our fourth annual year-in-review issue—check it out here. Since it's been a while, today's newsletter will spotlight the best music from the past month instead of just the past week.

Click here for a Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in this newsletter.

BIGGEST Songs of the Month 📈

Ever since the release of her 2017 debut album Ctrl, SZA has grown into one of music’s most in-demand and in-touch artists. She’s displayed an incredible knack for tapping into her innermost emotions and framing them with beats that feel ahead of popular trends.

However, in the years since Ctrl, SZA has taken her time creating new solo work, instead collaborating with artists such as Doja Cat, DJ Khaled, and Justin Timberlake. But when she finally released her long awaited follow-up LP, SOS, she made it worth the wait, delivering 23 tracks spanning over an hour. Songs like “Low,” “Blind,” and “Special” demonstrated her ability to create a major impact with minimalist instrumentation and her deep emotional sensitivity.