The 20-year-old superstar’s new album picks up the thematic thread of her Grammy-winning Sour with greater maturity and confidence.Credit:Nick Walker
Ballads and bangers sit side by side and Rodrigo is a dab hand at both,though the latter are much more fun here,led by the made-for-shouting singleBad Idea Right?It goes hand in hand withGet Him Back!,a choppy anthem whose double entendre title – is it about revenge or is it about reconciliation? – speaks to the contradictions of young womanhood. Both here and on the anxiety-chartingBallad of a Homeschooled Girl (despite its name,it’s an upbeat pop-rock number),she adopts a speak-singing cadence in the verses before propelling into an addictive chorus that wouldn’t sound out of place on an early 2000s teen movie soundtrack.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts:No threat of a sophomore slump here.
Rodrigo often wears her influences on her sleeve in a way that might be regarded as pastiche. Keen listeners noted the similarities betweenGood 4 U and Paramore’s 2006 hitMisery Business,resulting in the writers of the latter getting a credit after the fact. It was the same story forDeja Vu and Taylor Swift’sCruel Summer. The closing track onGuts is calledTeenage Dream – no explanation needed there.
Elsewhere,the inspiration is… herself:it’s hard not to clock the likeness betweenThe Grudge (which has already sparked internet debates regarding the subject of its wrath) and Rodrigo’s breakout singleDrivers License. But there are some new ingredients and experimentations too,such as the reverb-drenched highlightPretty Isn’t Pretty,which adopts a dreamy indie-pop sheen reminiscent of artists such as Alvvays and,closer to home,Hatchie – the sound suits Rodrigo’s voice,and more in this vein would be welcome in the future.
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When it comes to the record’s softer moments,the highlight isLogical,a roiling,piano-led document of an emotionally abusive relationship with an older man;Rodrigo’s voice trembles with emotion as she sings “you lied,you lied,you lied”,but elsewhere in the song she’s riddled with self-doubt and blame. She’s one of many young women rising against such treatment in recent times,and this song is a worthy addition to the canon alongside lead singleVampire,with its acidic shots (“You can’t love anyone,’cause that would mean you had a heart”).