With her sophomore album “GUTS,” Olivia Rodrigo takes on an earlier 2000s sound that balances on the edge of rock and soft, intricate vocals.
“GUTS” was released on Sept. 8, but her first single off the album — “vampire”— dropped on June 30.
Fans highly anticipated the drop of Rodrigo’s new music, as it has been two years since the release of her first album, “SOUR.”
Although some people were not impressed with Rodrigo’s new sound, “GUTS” is a brilliant hodgepodge of uniquely relatable experiences such as feminine rage, love and self-realization.
“GUTS” makes you want to come to terms with yourself, all while jumping around and screaming at the world.
The album accurately displays such a wide variety of emotions. It includes tracks that talk about real issues that carry weight. She also has songs like “bad idea right?” and “get him back!” that encapsulate the feeling of I know I shouldn’t call him, but I really want to anyway.
While “GUTS” is very different from “SOUR,” both projects intertwine and flow together.
“SOUR” is about a time when Rodrigo was heartbroken and blindsided by someone she loved. She was hurting.
But “GUTS” shows a different side of Rodrigo. We get to see what came of that heartache and catch a glimpse into the new stages of her life.
The last track on the album is “teenage dream,” where Rodrigo asks self-reflecting questions but fears she won’t measure up.
“Teenage dream” is written like it’s a response to her song “brutal,” which she released on “SOUR.”
In “brutal,” Rodrigo says, “I’m so sick of 17. Where’s my f—— teenage dream?”
“Teenage dream” gives the impression that she got her teenage dream, but it didn’t turn out as she suspected.
In the song, Rodrigo says that she’s only 19 but fears she has already given up the best parts of herself.
Rodrigo continues to give honesty and transparency through her music, even when she is telling a story where she is arguably wrong in the situation. But through this, she offers an authenticity that can be difficult to share.
With this album, Rodrigo is truly spilling her guts. She clearly puts words to the feelings of many young women navigating new adulthood.
Her new album holds a level of maturity that “SOUR” is missing. It shows how much Rodrigo has grown over the past few years.
