Missing out on GUTS…..It’s a bad idea right?
Yes, it would be a very very bad idea. On September 8th, 2023 award winning and record breaking singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo released her Sophomore Album, GUTS, and she has come to smash the industry once again. In only 39 minutes and 12 seconds Rodrigo conveys various complicated experiences and feelings universal to many young women and men. The opening track, one of my personal favorites, “all american b****” bounces back and forth between sweet and mellow tones to grunge rock with sarcastic lyrics mocking the societies view of the “perfect girl”. This song made me feel like I was in the beginning of a Y2K movie, specifically channeling my inner Anna Coleman and Kat Stratford.
The power punk doesn’t stop there, the tracks “bad idea right” “get him back”, “ballad of a homeschool girl”, and “love is embarrassing” all bring the hard beat of grunge and punk while serving listeners with extremely relatable lyrics. One I can’t get out of my head is from the bridge of “get him back” where she says “I wanna make him lunch, I wanna break his heart, then be the one to stitch it up”. I think it’s a universal experience to want the one who hurt you the most back, but even you don’t know if it’s for revenge or longing. Not only has she produced absolute punk bangers, but she has also created slower but powerful ballads.
While SOUR was an overnight classic phenomenon you can really hear the maturity of both Rodrigo’s vocals and writing. The tracks “vampire” and “logical” take on the artist personal experience of an older figure she adored taking advantage of her being young and naive, something unfortunately many young women relate to.
Though she has an incredibly unique sound, you can also hear the inspiration of thousands of powerful woman to come before her. Whether it be Carly Simon, Alanis Morrisette, or Taylor Swift, you can hear the power and creativity that comes from generations of women, and now today’s newest generation gets the incredible Olivia Rodrigo to look up to.