It has been more than two years since Olivia Rodrigo broke into the pop mainstream with her debut single, “drivers license,” which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This happened at a time when only the most famous figures in music with the most intense, loyal fanbases could do so. It stayed at #1 for eight weeks, and by that time, it became clear that the song was not just popular because of Disney connections or tabloid drama, but because of its own strengths. The lyrics painted a clear picture of a teenage girl in the aftermath of a breakup, and Rodrigo’s vocal performance in the song helped sell that heartbreak. Her next two singles, “deja vu” and “good 4 u,” were also very well-received, and this pattern of success continued when her debut album, SOUR, was released that April. The album was decent overall, and it did a good job of demonstrating Rodrigo’s appeal: she could write emotional ballads while also “rocking out” once in a while. However, there was one major obstacle that Rodrigo would have to overcome in the future. Most of SOUR was about the same topic as her previous singles–her breakup–minus a few like “brutal” and “hope ur okay.” The fact that most of them were mid-tempo ballads didn’t really help either, and it made the album feel very padded out. This raised some questions for Rodrigo: would she be able to explore different subject matter moving forward? If so, how?
GUTS revealed that the answers were “yes” and “with more rock music” respectively. However, although the album was overall more enjoyable, there were a couple of moments that fell flat.
We got a peek into the answer with GUTS’ first single, “vampire.” Thinking back, I can see why this song was chosen to be the first song to be released from the album. It has the same conceit as Olivia Rodrigo’s past music: her relationship has ended, and she is now angry at her ex. This probably sounds very familiar to anyone who has heard “good 4 u.” However, instead of being a punchy pop-punk song, it starts off as a melancholic piano ballad a la “drivers license,” and then becomes more fast-paced as Rodrigo vents about a sketchy older man who took advantage of her in their relationship. The song has a very dramatic and intense tone that was not present in any of her other material. It is definitely one of the most dynamic pop songs that I have heard this year.
Unfortunately, “vampire” is a mess. As convincing as Rodrigo’s angry vocal performance is, the rest of the song is not as cutting as it wants to be. She sometimes sings the lyrics as though she’s trying to cram as many words as possible into just a few seconds. As a result, the lyrics don’t get any room to stand out or have any impact. Even if that wasn’t happening, the lyrics on their own are very weak. The vampire metaphor feels like an afterthought. For example, right before the buildup ends and the music drops in the chorus, Rodrigo sings the line, “The way you sold me for parts / As you sunk your teeth into me, oh.” The mention of being “sold for parts” is more confusing than anything because it doesn’t fit the metaphor at all. She only compares her ex to a vampire a couple of times at most, but it doesn’t paint a clear picture of how he hurt her. The only lyrics that stood out were “bloodsucker, famef**ker.” This is because of two reasons: first, she sings the line right when the music drops out, so it is loud and clear. Second, it implies that her ex used her to raise his own profile, which is the only insight we get into the relationship.
The rest of the song is very vague. If the production sounded good, it might have still been enjoyable, but the combination of the piano and the vocalization in the background makes it sound very musical theater-esque. It tries to make an already dramatic song even more intense, and the result comes off as neither cathartic nor enjoyable. I appreciate that “vampire” took some swings, but ultimately, it was a miss.
The second single from GUTS, “bad idea right?”, is a much more upbeat affair. It is a very catchy rock song where Rodrigo contemplates reconciling with an ex even though he’s probably not very good for her. The catchy guitar riff playing throughout and the speak-singing in the verses reminds me of “brutal,” which is my favorite song in SOUR. This is a significant improvement over “vampire,” and it sounds like Rodrigo is having a lot of fun here. I especially love how in the chorus, she earnestly sings that she “only sees him as a friend,” and then what sounds like a whole group of Rodrigos promptly interjects, “THE BIGGEST LIE I EVER SAID!”. It’s very funny and prevents the whole ordeal from feeling frustrating. This song hits all the same buttons as “brutal”: the self-deprecation, the sense of humor, and the feeling of being in over your head as your thoughts collapse into themselves. What puts this over the edge is how much it commits to being a rock song. The guitars and drums feel heavier and buzzier in a way that reminds me of 2000s indie rock, and it goes all out in a way that makes “good 4 u” tame by comparison. While listening to GUTS, I found that the best songs on the album were easily the rock songs; they showcased a looser side to Olivia Rodrigo that we didn’t see that often on SOUR, much like “bad idea right?” did.
GUTS opens with the song “all-american b***h,” which is a satire of how society expects women to be everything, everywhere, all at once: light, stiff, cool with cruel jokes, but also to “pay attention to things that most people ignore.” The social commentary isn’t anything new; anyone who has watched Barbie has heard this spiel. What makes this song fun is that it’s delivered in a way that sounds like Rodrigo is laughing at this idea: the verses sound gentle and acoustic, and the chorus is more pop-punk. I also really like the part in which she sings about screaming internally, then proceeds to actually scream out loud. It’s fun to listen to, and it shows a more confident side to Rodrigo.
Another song that was very attention-grabbing was the fourth track, “lacy.” It’s a quieter ballad about someone named Lacy whom Rodrigo is very jealous of. The lyrics initially seem like it’s about a person Rodrigo perceives as being more attractive than her, but then she says that she “sees [Lacy] everywhere,” which made me think it was not about a single person. To me, it seems more like the song is about wanting to meet unattainable beauty standards, personified as “Lacy.” It’s possible that “lacy” is just a song about falling for someone named Lacy, but the tone of the song is too sour to come off as such. I don’t really enjoy it as a song, but the lyrics are very interesting. I imagine other people will come away with their own interpretations. That being said, what came next was an immediate highlight.
The best song on GUTS is “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” It’s another rock song, and it’s about how awkward Rodrigo feels in social situations. She’s in full self-deprecation mode about how she’s no fun and always says the wrong things, but it never gets overbearing or cringey because the song is just really fun. There’s yet another catchy guitar melody playing throughout the song, and when Rodrigo sings the chorus, she sounds like her thoughts are just tumbling out of her. The result is a really upbeat song with lyrics that are self-critical but not self-loathing.
Another highlight from the album is “get him back!”, where Rodrigo goes back and forth between wanting to “get him back” in the sense of getting revenge and in the sense of getting back with her ex. This is probably the funniest song on the album because of how quickly she switches between reminiscing about being with him, and then immediately remembering how he was actually a jerk. This is especially prominent in the bridge, with lines such as, “I wanna meet his mom…and tell her HER SON SUCKS!”
My favorite Olivia Rodrigo songs are the ones where she embraces her theatricality and isn’t afraid to be a mess. However, while the best songs on GUTS undoubtedly do that, not every one of them does.
There are fewer ballads on GUTS than on SOUR, but with the exception of “lacy,” most of them tended to be forgettable. Part of this may be personal taste; if you throw in a ballad in an album full of bangers, I’m not going to remember the ballad. Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder: why were they so disappointing? None of the songwriting or production in GUTS were better than “drivers license.” In some cases, it was actually a step back. The weakest song in GUTS is “logical,” where Rodrigo sings about how her ex was a manipulator; the chorus is made of clichés comparing her love for him to obviously wrong statements. Hearing Rodrigo earnestly belt out a line like “Now you got me thinking two plus two equals five” is very cringey. It’s very dull instrumentally as well, thanks to a repetitive piano melody that never develops. The lyrics are so nondescript that they could have been sung by anyone, which makes “logical” my least favorite Olivia Rodrigo song to date. “making the bed” is a change of pace from her ballads’ usual subject matter, but it suffers from the same problem as “logical” in that it sounds very dull. Another ballad close to the end of the album, called “the grudge,” just sounds like a weaker “drivers license.” The problem with the ballads is that it seems like there are only two types of them–“sad piano song” and “dull adult-contemporary song”–and too many of them for a twelve-track album. Therefore, despite some good lyrics and good performances, they grow tiresome.
Despite my qualms with the album’s ballads and occasional unevenness, I found GUTS to be a very fun album overall. It’s not going to blow anyone’s minds if they listen to a lot of rock music, but Olivia Rodrigo is a very enjoyable and distinct presence. Even on the weaker songs, she never sounds disengaged or checked-out, and that helped me through even the worst parts. The album does a great job of doubling down on Rodrigo’s strengths as an artist and expanding on her personality. Even with a lot of room for improvement, she has thoroughly established her space in pop music.
The Roar 