GUTS

Olivia Rodrigo

explicit

Released on 9/8/23 by Olivia Rodrigo PS
Main artists: Olivia Rodrigo
Genre: Pop

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Much has been made of the fact that Olivia Rodrigo—unlike Phoebe Bridgers,Beabadoobee and Sabrina Carpenter—wasn't asked to join Taylor Swift on her Eras tour after failing to give Swift songwriting credit on two tracks from Sour, Rodrigo's 2021 debut. (The non-collaborative credits, largely for influence, were added later and to much hullabaloo.) But Rodrigo shouldn't be opening for anyone. She's a towering pop star with an appealingly awkward edge, admired by Annie Clark and Kathleen Hanna, who has called Rodrigo "a revelation." She lives up to that potential on her second album, a bottle rocket messily shooting off excitement and confusion and barbs, some of which land right back in her own heart.

As a tween, Rodrigo starred in an American Girl movie. At 20, she's singing "all-american bitch," a clever roller coaster that goes from dreamy folk—her voice soft like breath on a dandelion puff—to giddy pop-punk. "With perfect all-American lips/ And perfect all-American hips/ I know my place, I know my place and this is it ... I scream inside to deal with it," she howls with sarcasm and angst. "bad idea right?" is an irresistible made-for-radio song, with head-banger guitar and new wave bounce, about hooking up with an ex against all better judgment ("See you tonight/ It's a bad idea right? Whatever, it's fine"). "Vampire" deliciously melds traces of Swift (bite your tongue) and My Chemical Romance as Rodrigo aims for the rafters and commits to the to the metaphor: "You sunk your teeth into me/ Bloodsucker, famefucker/ Bleedin' me dry, like a goddamn vampire." "Lacy" is a surprising bit of gothic folk that taps into complicated feelings of friendship and jealousy, its sweet guitar darkly contrasting with a sinister vocal effect. "ballad of a homeschooled girl" bounces on spring-loaded bass and careening '90s indie-rock guitar as she lays bare self-perceived social awkwardness: "I'm on the outside of the greatest inside joke/ And I hate all my clothes/ Feels like my skin doesn't fit right over my bones … Everything I do is tragic/ Every guy I like is gay."

Rodrigo and producer Daniel Nigro have a keen sense of dynamics, varying the pop-punk and piano ballads that made Sour a smash. "Making the Bed" makes the most of a big swoony bridge, "Logical" lashes out at a "master manipulator" and "Teenage Dream" finds Rodrigo already worried about outgrowing her youthful charms: "And when does wide-eyed affection and all good intentions start to not be enough?" It's fucked-up and scary and sad, and it builds to a scream-along that is pure catharsis. "get him back!" is anthemic and unafraid to look a little crazy: "Wanna kiss his face (And then I want to get him back)/ With an uppercut (Then I want to get him back)/ I wanna meet his mom (And then I want to get him back)/ Just to tell her her son sucks (Then I want to get him back)." A former Disney girl, Rodrigo is never going to be able to hide her theater-kid tendencies, but there's plenty of room for the drama here. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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GUTS

Olivia Rodrigo

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all-american bitch Explicit