GUTS - Olivia Rodrigo: Review
Olivia Rodrigo
is one of the biggest pop stars in the world. She first broke into the world of pop music in 2021 following her breakthrough in acting in children's shows previously. Her debut album contained numerous massive hits leading to feverish anticipation of a follow-up.
Review by Lav:
Olivia Rodrigo dropped like a nuclear bomb. In the span of about a week she went from a name I had heard of but couldn't identify quite why into one of the biggest stars in music. Ultimately, I liked her debut album. While it had some moments of inconsistent songwriting and certainly showed her immaturity on occasion, it had immense promise. While GUTS may not show that progress reaching it's absolute peak, this is definitely an increase in both quality and personality from a young star quickly becoming one of the biggest voices in pop music.
The album led off with Vampire, a VERY Lorde-inspired multi-faceted ballad. The song didn't blow me away at first but it definitely starts off slow and gets better as it goes on. Across the last minute when the track really hits its stride and closes out with a fantastic final chorus I'm totally hooked. The second single bad idea right? is even better. The song fucking rips with wiry energy that Olivia meets perfectly with her trademark sass. The wordy refrains weave in and out of each other and feature one punch line after another as Olivia tries to talk herself out of seeing an ex (without really talking herself out of it.) It's definitely the brutal of this album and the two tracks stand together as my favorite of Olivia's songs so far.
get him back was named the third single about a week after the album dropped and I wasn't the least bit surprised. It's another great song with the combination of her above it all punky attitude and flashes of genuine vulnerability making for a perfect contract. Also the double entendre of getting him back and "getting him back" is simple but very cute for the theme of the song.
Much like the second and third singles, when this song dials up the energy it's usually a very good thing. ballad of a homeschooled girl is a total fucking banger and I don't care what anybody says. The lyrics are hilarious and it bounces through its compositional changes with this exceedingly frenetic energy that I just adore. Opening track all-american bitch could probably use a bit less cringe-inducing of a hook. At its lowest it reminds me of some of the Riot Grrrl dress up acts on TikTok but thankfully Olivia manages to work in plenty of good songwriting elsewhere. This is another track where the composition refusing to settle down is a big highlight. love is embarrassing is the one upbeat song here I'm just iffy about. It's decent but for the most part it feels like a facsimile of the rest of the albums most energetic points without much setting it apart.
Thankfully the album also knows how to puts its emotions on display. Lacy is a stripped-down ballad that surprisingly stays that way throughout most of the song. It's an interesting little flip on the idea of jealousy and how much it can affect Olivia even without the spite coming from Lacy directly. making the bed is even better with a dramatic reframing of Olivia's loneliness as a result of her own actions. It has this very spacious and nocturnal mix with these springy guitars and distant drums. At the end of the hook when she finally realizes she's the one whose ultimately "making the bed" it's a great moment.
pretty isn't pretty was a big surprise that turned into one of my favorite Olivia Rodrigo songs to date. It's a type of shimmering vintage pop that I didn't think she really had any interest in with her nostalgia coming from decades more recent. It has this infectious guitar tone that is utterly mesmerizing and the whole instrumental sets her up for one of the best hooks on the entire album. That carries well into the closer teenage dream which reminds me a lot of the closing track from Olivia's last album hope ur okay. Instead of a message to others this time she's sending a message to herself. I love the way the composition develops and it makes for a great finale even if the raw emotional impact isn't quite as deep as on hope.
Once again though, the soaring dramatic highs make the album's plain moments feel so much more plain. I can't say whether or not the grudge is about Taylor Swift but I can say I think it's a decent ballad that's very outclassed by other songs here that really dig into their emotional stakes. Once again though, it gets off to a slow start before building to a better climax. My least favorite song on the album is logical which is by far the weakest from a songwriting perspective. It has some individual moments that are less than stellar but really just the overall theme of love not being "logical" kinda falls flat on its face.
GUTS is the very definition of a step forward for Olivia Rodrigo. While some of the same issues that plagued her debut still pop up here and there, for the most part the highs are even higher. Olivia is improving on her best strength, songwriting. Her stories continue to stand out amongst all of her peers and her willingness to deliver them in unsettled compositions stacked with wordy refrains pays off huge on this album. This album may not be great enough to serve as a cultural reset for pop music, but it's great enough to set Olivia Rodrigo apart from almost all of her mainstream pop contemporaries this year. 7.5/10
For more pop music check out my review of Kim Petras' Feed The Beast
