Olivia Rodrigo’s highly anticipated sophomore album GUTS has finally landed and is sure to leave its mark on the music industry. With the album’s first single ‘vampire’ topping the UK’s singles chart, Rodrigo officially holds the most UK number one singles by a female artist of this decade. At just 20 years old, Rodrigo has already won big at the GRAMMY’s and could be seeing even more success thanks to this album.
Rodrigo’s verging on grungy Y2K aesthetic and dedication to the colour purple has made her popular amongst teenagers across the world. However, her music has been able to break age boundaries by writing gut wrenching lyrics that anyone can relate to and placing it behind often preppy instrumentals.
GUTS kicks off with ‘all-american bitch’, an early 2000s-esque pop punk track. The song’s unassuming verses with their country energy and light acoustic guitar riffs make the messy and loud chorus feel even more impactful. Rodrigo’s anger spills out of the song, which is only enhanced by the passive aggressive lyrics: “I’m grateful all the time / I’m sexy and I’m kind / I’m pretty when I cry / Oh, all the time”. ‘all-american bitch’, just like its predecessor ‘brutal’, acts as a shock for the audience to get their full attention for the theatrics about to take place.
‘bad idea right?’ is a playful indie pop track that is utterly addictive. Rodrigo’s production style on GUTS has definitely taken a step-up from SOUR with its thoughtful layering and more focused instrumentals that can clearly be heard on ‘bad idea right?’. The incessant guitar riff matched with Rodrigo’s disarming vocals creates an easily replayable song. The lively lyrics make this track perfect for screaming at her shows: “Yes, I know that he’s my ex / But can’t two people reconnect? / I only see him as a friend / The biggest lie I ever said”. ‘bad idea right?’ will for sure be a fan favourite at live shows.
‘lacy’ has a similar soundscape to SOUR with its mostly acoustic instrumentals. However, the layered vocals and harmonies of the track give it an extra boost from many of the more subdued songs on Rodrigo’s debut. The lyrics of ‘lacy’ have led to some intriguing speculation as to who the song is about and only adds to the mystical energy of the track: “Ooh, I care, I care, I care / Like ribbons in your hair, my stomach’s all in knots / You got the one thing that I want / Ooh, I try, I try, I try”.
Some of the best tracks on the record come from when Rodrigo seems to fully let herself go. The disordered youthful energy of both ‘ballad of a homeschooled girl’ and ‘get him back’. These anthems perfectly encompass chaos that occurs during adolescence with their raucous drum beats and chanting vocals. Both songs refuse to give listeners a break and allow Rodrigo to hold her audience in the palm of her hand.
For die-hard fans of SOUR, ‘the grudge’ will certainly be a favourite. The song is driven by Rodrigo’s vocals, similarly to ‘drivers licence’, and may be the most heart wrenching ballad on the album. This ability to match a song’s emotions and clearly convey this to her listeners is one of Rodrigo’s strongest traits that seems to come naturally to her.
The light and jaunty instrumental that backs ‘pretty isn’t pretty’ covers up some of Rodrigo’s most relatable lyrics. Whilst her music is undoubtedly aimed at teenagers, this track will strike a chord with almost anyone. The conversation surrounding not being beautiful enough is one that will never get old: “Bought a bunch of makeup, tryna cover up my face / I started to skip lunch, stopped eatin’ cake on birthdays / I bought a new prescription to try and stay calm / ‘Cause there’s always somethin’ missin’ / There’s always somethin’ in the mirror that I think looks wrong”. For many, Rodrigo’s openness about her personal struggles will act as a comfort for her fans.
GUTS ends with ‘teenage dream’, a beautiful piano-powered track about Rodrigo’s fears about not being able to maintain her success. Being such a young artist with the amount of attention that Rodrigo has been able to amass with one album seems to place an incredible weight on her shoulders. Olivia is honest about her worries that her work will never progress past SOUR: “Got your whole life ahead of you, you’re only nineteen / But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me / And I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream”.
In spite of the pressure that inevitably comes with the award winning success of her first album, Olivia Rodrigo has managed to maintain her sense of self whilst also starting to push boundaries with her music. The production on GUTS has clearly advanced since her work on SOUR and highlights how Rodrigo is experimenting with her pop punk sound more compared to her ballad-heavy debut LP.
Whether you prefer GUTS or SOUR, it is irrefutable that Olivia Rodrigo’s music will be the soundtrack to teenagers’ lives throughout the 20s.
Words by Amy Britton
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