Music Reviews

Okay SOUR definitely wasn’t a fluke.

Not gonna lie I wasn’t really all that hyped for this one – I heard only one of the singles released before this album came out in the form of „bad idea right?“ and thought it was kinda just alright. I liked SOUR well enough and thought Olivia proved that she can compose pretty catchy pop songs with rock elements without them feeling corny or feeling out of place. Overall with some occasional duds SOUR was a big success critically and commericially and I liked it quite a bit. But still I just for a while now didn’t feel like listening to this one for whatever reason, I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’m really glad I finally decided to though, because this album kinda slaps.

It opens with the song „all-american bitch“ which kinda says a lot about this album edginess (which don’t get me wrong I think is to the album’s benefit actually) but the song itself is also really good. Short but sweet with some really open and relatable lyrics from Olivia as per usual and some really dope guitar riffs too. Not too bad for an opener, actually a really catchy and hard-hitting one ,kinda like SOUR’s „brutal“, I like it a lot. Then there is the aforementioned single „bad idea right?“ which grew on me quite a bit actually – I really like the guitars on this one and the solo is a nice touch too. Continues the feel of the album really well and the hook is kinda funny honestly, it ain’t half bad. Still like the opener a smidget better though. Now „vampire“ is really where this album’s at up until this point – it’s the first piano ballad of the album, but the chords are just so good and the way the song goes from really slow and somber to this almost dance piano beat is kinda genius? Like I get how it can come off as a bit cheap but I personally really enjoy it. I don’t know, I just think the tune is really there, it’s super fun and catchy and also really heartfelt, like the singing has some unbelievable high points on this one. Gives me just a little Fiona Apple vibes honestly. The profanity feels a little out of place in the chorus though, I’ll say that, but that’s mostly just a nitpick, I really like this song, easy big hit from this album. Next is the song „lacy“ which is this Phoebe Bridgers-esk guitar plucky ballad which serves as kind of a nice comedown from „vampire“. There isn’t all that much to be said about this one to be honest, I like the vibe but it isn’t really all that memorable, but it’s a nice moment regardless. „ballad of a homeschooled girl“ really caught me off guard when I first listened to it, after the short and sweet „lacy“ this song is like an actual punch in the face. A fricking good one at that though. The bass is super tight here, the guitars probably the rawest on this album so far, the chorus is super catchy and almost punk-like, I like it quite a bit. The lyrics are also strong, honestly this song is like one of my favorites on this album easily. „making the bed“ comes after that and this one is another slower one but the lyrics and atmosphere are really what makes this one work. There are some guitars that are brought in after the chorus and they only help built the atmosphere, the distortion works really well with the more gentle instrumental elements. But the lyrics really sell me the most on this song, I really like the way she portrays how miserable she is doing the things she does but she knows that it’s her who’s making the decisions. Really well portrayed, good song. It also transitions really well into the next song „logical“ which is a pure piano ballad that honestly gets a little derivative after a while. Not bad, but it’s probably the closest this album gets to that so far – it’s honestly just kinda boring, even though Olivia’s performance carries the song heavily, her voice is beautiful and it’s given a full opportunity to shine here. „get him back!“ is once again more on the rock side of things, with sharp drums and heavy bass, but this one kinda misses the punch of some of the previous songs. The electronic elements in the second verse are nice though and the chorus grows on me the more I listen to it. Still probably in the bottom half of the songs on here so far. „love is emberassing“ picks things up a bit for me, I really like the cheery-sounding chorus, the straight-forwardness of the song and the honestly really creative guitar work on this song in particular, especially in the chorus, I wish this song was way longer than it is, because it’s a banger. „the grudge“ is one of the more effective slower ballads on the album in my eyes, once again especially in the lyrics/Olivia’s delivery department. And this one has a real indie vibe too, not too shabby this one. Can’t say much else about it, it’s just an alright song. The second to last song picks the tempo up a bit once again with the song „pretty isn’t pretty“ and I really like the message behind this one as I do the instrumental, both compliment each other quite well, the more airy almost shoegazy guitars work really well here. Now for the closer „teenage dream“ I think this is probably the piano ballad that turned out the best on this entire album – granted there is the drum freakout at the end, but that doesn’t last long and up to that point it’s mostly just pure piano so I say it counts. The lyrics summerize all the themes of the album such as anxiety, self-image, abusive relationships, beauty standarts etc. really well and make the album feel really cohesive. Great closer

And so yeah, that was „GUTS“ by Olivia Rodrigo – I get a lot of Billie Eilish vibes with this one, because it’s not maybe as catchy or memorable as her first album but I think it’s much more mature and improved on a lot of things from the previous project to overall make it better than it’s predecessor. There is still a lot of room to grow obviously, but Olivia really killed it in my eyes and I can’t wait to see her grow even more.

-favorite tracks: all-american bitch, bad idea right?, vampire, ballad of a homeschooled girl, making the bed, love is emberrassing, pretty isn’t pretty, teenage dream

-least favorite tracks: part of get him back! and logical

Strong 7/10