BY: JAEQWON SUAREZ / DEPUTY ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Olivia Rodrigo’s first album SOUR was an immediate success, winning Best Pop Album at the 64th annual Grammy Awards. She then went on to win two other Grammy Awards, holding three Grammys at a young age. Since then, she took a break and came back to release her first single on the album, Vampire on June 30, 2023.
The song received mixed reviews from her fans, some being scared that it was too different while others quite liked the change. She then released her second single, Bad Idea, Right? which turned out to be the people’s favorite out of the two singles.
But now, the wait is over and GUTS has finally come out, and it is definitely a roller coaster. She taps into the punk rock elements that were there in SOUR but expands and plays with her sound. Her sophomore album feels like it embodies her teen years and really goes into the emotions that we have all felt at one point or another.
This album definitely recognizes the growth that Olivia has gone through, and I love how the songs also show that. Whether you’re angry, sad, or just want to scream out all your feelings, GUTS has everything you want and more.
All-American Bitch starts the album in an enjoyable way as she makes fun of what it’s like to be a typical American. I love the use of the strings in this song, as it constantly switches from being all pretty and nice to suddenly rocking out and screaming.
It’s such a unique way to point out what Americans as we often normally think these things. One line that I really loved was:
“I don't get angry when I'm pissed; I'm the eternal optimist”
It really was a fun way to show off how American society has such high standards for everyone, especially women, to live by. So if that didn’t prepare you for the rollercoaster that she’s started, you better stay tuned.
It then perfectly transitions into Bad Idea Right, which starts off with the sound of a door or window creaking open. This song almost feels like a battle between what she knows to do and what she thinks she wants to do.
Her head is logically thinking that she shouldn’t see her ex. Meanwhile, her heart is trying to convince her that one night can’t hurt anyone. The multiple voice tracks also help to convey this idea of her friends telling her no, but she doesn’t want to listen to them and ultimately gives in to what her heart says.
The ending was quite fun and playful, as it plays a very high-pitched electric guitar that sounds very quirky. Yet it somehow just ties the whole song together with that one riff, which truly embodies the punk-pop that she was going for.
Third is Vampire and it carries some rock elements, while still being a ballad. The build-up in the chorus is truly amazing, as it keeps you on the edge of your seat before she finally releases all the energy.
She describes someone who physically and emotionally drains her to the point that she feels useless. There are many references to the supernatural creature, with the blood-sucking line but also in the spiritual sense because this is someone who literally wants every single part of you and honestly doesn’t care how hurt you may feel.
It feels like a movie scene where the character finally fits the pieces together and figures out that their friend or significant other is the problem, but once the vampire has got you, what can you do? You’re left with parts of yourself, as Olivia says in her song, which correlates to the fourth one.
Lacy wasn’t my personal favorite when I first listened, but the more you listen to it, the more it fits into the story of a teenage girl figuring out herself. The sound itself differs from the first three, as this one mainly uses the acoustic guitar and vocals to give it a raw, eerie sound.
It follows this person adoring someone, which may be the prettiest girl in the room. However, with every line, you can feel the jealousy building up until we get to the chorus and she’s trying to tell herself that it shouldn’t matter, even though it makes her crazy to see them being sweet and nice.
There’s one lyric that sums up what she expresses throughout the song:
“Try to rationalize, people are people; But it's like you're made of angel dust”
The more listens you give to the song, the more it’ll grow on you. It has a similar concept to her other song Jealousy, from her first album, but crazier because it’s so soft and gives eerie vibes the entire time.
In the end, the jealousy she feels has completely taken over and she regrets seeing Lacy because she is like an Angel which is making her want to worship her beauty and how she should act.
In an effort to be like Lacy, Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl takes that idea and gives a punk-rock moment to us. Olivia describes being at a party where everything she does or touches just keeps getting worse.
This is one of my top three songs from the album because the rock aspect really gets to shine in the song, making it a total head-banger. It also describes what it’s like to be awkward at a party and not know what to do or say. Everyone is stranger, and like this lyric tells us:
“It's social suicide, yeah, when I'm alone, I'm fine; But don't let me out at night, it's social suicide”
It is such an amazing production by Dan Nigro, who produces almost all of the songs on the album, as rock is a genre that is normally associated with not fitting in. However, in the song, Olivia wants to feel welcomed, to fit in with the rest of her age group even if it’s just for one night.
My third favorite, Makin the Bed, switches the vibe as it becomes a rock ballad talking about how you have no one to blame but yourself.
She takes that expression and literally applies it to herself. I relate to this song personally because it is so easy to push people away and use others as distraction, and you have no one to blame because, at the end of it, you’ve been making the decisions.
But once it starts, it’s hard to stop. Makin the Bed is realizing that your problems can’t go away no matter how many times you may just want to pull the sheets over your head just to escape reality.
She gives us an electric guitar solo before the outro, and really nails the fact of someone just going through their emotions and not knowing how to contact their friends or people who want to help.
If you weren’t sad enough, Logical will definitely put you deeper into those somber thoughts. The chorus is very well put together, as she explains to us how a guy essentially tries to rewire her thinking and make her feel dumb.
This piano ballad is emotional and you can hear that in her voice the further you get into the song. It’s also worth noting that the further you get in, the more the logical sense gets thrown out the window with two plus two equaling five and the grass becoming red.
It ends with her saying “Love is never Logical”, reinforcing the fact that love isn’t something that can be solved with an equation and you have to accept that in order for yourself to move on.
We’re not moving on just yet, however. Get him back! gets us back into punk with a catchy chorus and a nice synthesizer. The title has a double meaning and depends on how you’re feeling at the moment.
On the one hand, Get him Back! means hooking up with another guy or proving to him that you don’t need him to have fun. However, she is constantly contradicting herself by going backward and wanting to get back with him.
The battle to love or hate him is apparent as she constantly thinks of ways to get him back, but then she also misses him and wants to get back with him. These two conflicting ideas are what put this song at number one in my top three.
It’s very playful at the end, and the concept of trying to get revenge while also making him jealous is truly so good, not to mention the guitar in the outro just encapturing this feeling of empowerment, but also vulnerability as she still hasn’t moved on.
Love is embarrassing following up with a new guy with different problems. This taps into the pop-punk genre, which is something that I’m glad she’s tapping into more with her music and even with vocals as well.
She has taken a backseat and realized she’s the only one who truly loves him, even when he gets with his ex and cries when he and his ex break up again, just for him to get with another girl.
Embarrassing as the narrator knows it is, she can’t help it. As she says in the bridge:
“I give up everything
I placed my bets, and it's not worth anything
I give up, give up, but I keep comin' back for more, yeah”
She is constantly calling herself a fool and stupid for not realizing that he would keep doing the same thing, no matter how many times she goes back. Once the next song kicks in though, it seems that the vibes of punk change back into ballads as she breaks down.
The grudge gives us another piano ballad, but now she has to deal with the actions and her emotions that were once tied to this guy who kept playing and using her.
It’s gut-wrenching as she sings and talks to the listeners as she tries to convince us and herself that she is fine. My favorite line comes from the bridge, which has incredible symbolism:
“Ooh, do you think I deserved it all?
Ooh, your flowers filled with vitriol
You built me up to watch me fall
You have everything, and you still want more”
Vitriol for the non-scientists out there, is a type of sulfuric acid. So this guy liked doing bad things such as gaslighting and complimenting with words that obviously had the intent to be mean but kept using them as nice words to her.
That just makes this song sadder, considering that she is trying so hard to forgive him for everything, but ends the song off as if it was too weak to continue.
Pretty isn’t Pretty continues this concept of being insecure with yourself. It sets the tone to scream your feelings as you cry and dance around room.
At the same time though, she talks about the beauty standards that are placed on young people. To look up to someone who you will never look like no matter what you do. Not only that, but she also brings up what happens when we do try to look like everybody else, which leads to starving ourselves or buying products that we know we don’t need.
The ability she has to sing talk through this is entire album is amazing, because it truly does feel like thoughts and battling those feelings of trying to be you while also fitting in, and Pretty isn’t Pretty definitely lets us know that.
Ironically, the last song of the album is Teenage Dream. It’s somber start lets the audience think back to times when they couldn’t live up to the expectations placed upon them, and I think that’s such an incredible rough feeling the song captures perfectly.
The lyric that stuck out to me the most was:
“But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me”
The bridge is my favorite part of the song, when the drums and the guitar comes together to embody all the anger,regret, and sadness that has been building up throughout this entire album.
That's the part that gets me everytime. Then to end it off with the producer’s baby, Saoirse Raine, babbling. I think it’s to represent the innocence that goes away as you grow older and society puts high expectations and standards on you.
The album overall was an amazing project to listen to, especially since it ode to the teenage years and all the embarrassing things that we’ll regret or love to remember in the future.
Her sophomore album exceeded my expectations and felt refreshing to hear. I’ve never been one to enjoy punk or rock music, but the way it was incorporated into the album was clever and makes me want to dive more into those genres.
If you haven’t already heard it, GUTS should be on the list to listen to, if you want to go on emotional ride that both is good and bad.