After taking a two year break between albums, 20-year-old singer-songwriter, Olivia Rodrigo released her sophomore album GUTS on September 8. Rodrigo’s debut album SOUR made headlines as soon as it struck midnight, while GUTS immediately grabbed the attention of fans and followed in footstep. The album contains 12 songs, adding up to 39 minutes. Here are a few songs that grabbed my attention on first listen.
“lacy”
The fourth track on GUTS is lyrically similar to “jealousy, jealousy,” the ninth track on SOUR. In both songs, Rodrigo compares herself to other women in her life and cannot seem to stop obsessively thinking about the person she is envious of. When I first heard this song, I immediately thought of “Heather” by Conan Gray, again resembling the idealization of the people stuck in their head.
“ballad of a homeschooled girl”
When hearing “ballad”, you imagine a slow song, but this is the opposite. I like the production of this song, especially with the fast paced singing and punk rock elements that Rodrigo continues to incorporate into her music. It highlights the anxiety accompanied by socializing when you’re not used to being around peers, along with embarrassing and awkward things you later scorn yourself for doing. The comedic songwriting and humility builds an entertaining reaction, adding to the already empathetic emotional involvement in the song. Rodrigo’s “ballad of a homeschooled girl” takes a break from many of the slower songs from Rodrigo’s discography and is a charming and appealing track to listen to.
“get him back!”
This is probably Rodrigo’s most upbeat song on GUTS, incorporating humor into the lyrics and contradicting herself in the message. Instead of wanting to go back to a previous relationship, she chooses to go a more sinister route and decides to take revenge. The song sounds like the early 2000s, and could easily fit into a montage of a young adult movie during that time.
“logical”
This piano ballad takes on Rodrigo’s position of being blind in a manipulative and disorderly relationship. In this track, she realizes she should have questioned the mistrustful partner instead of blaming herself for the things that went wrong. She sings about the emotional turmoil that comes with the idea her optimism will change her partner for the better. The result of this mindset only makes her constantly second guess herself and feel uncomfortable for the duration of the relationship. She also reflects on her part, knowing that she could have left the relationship or done more, so she faults herself for not doing anything to escape the controlling situation.
“pretty isn’t pretty”
In this track, Rodrigo reflects on herself, mainly her appearance, compared to expectations she needs to live up to. This creates a song where people can pour their hearts out in the relatability of being insecure and attempting to make a perfect version of themselves that is unattainable. Rodrigo’s “pretty isn’t pretty” tells a melancholic reality about how fame affects artists in a way fans don’t see behind closed doors.The raw emotion in questioning what to do when you aren’t your best version implements a change in how we view celebrities, people in the limelight, and their struggles with their image and feeling imperfect. The song brings comfort to people, predominantly young girls growing up in an age of constant comparison and an unyielding desire to be perfect.
