Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS - Punk Rock & Purple Pop
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Sep. 12, 2023 • By Jason Elhilow
DescriptionA review of GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo's newest album, and how it's a culmination of punk rock, pop, a very purple aesthetic, and everything music should be.
MessageWe recommend listening to GUTS to form your own opinions about the album.
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Olivia RodrigoIntroductionI'm an Olivia Rodrigo fan, and have been since Drivers License hit the scene on January 8, 2021. The artist, who was an actress on the Disney Channel and, eventually, the star of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, made her massive debut two years back with the album SOUR. From that, she walked away with three Grammys, a dozen other awards, and a rise to fame unparalleled in recent history. She was only eighteen.
Now she's back, as on September 8th, Rodrigo released her sophomore record GUTS, and there's only one way to describe it: f— amazing. EVERYTHING, from the songs and their production to the vocals and her lyrics, is just perfect. The album is playful, cathartic, ethereal, and melancholic that, in comparison to her acclaimed SOUR, is better in a million ways (and I love those eleven tracks). This new piece takes what was 20% of that original and makes it 100% perfect, stemming from the cores of Good 4 U, Brutal, and Jealousy, Jealousy for a more rock-focused collection. But some more somber tunes, "purple pop" as I am deciding to categorize them, live on the album, too, harkening back to Olivia's debut with softer and increasingly melodramatic takes. Regardless, I have been blasting the twelve tumultuous tracks of GUTS since Friday, laughing, crying, and ascending to heaven through my listens, finding my favorites out of the bunch. But to be completely honest, they are all top-tier, and if that is not a testament to their quality, I don't know what is.
Favorite SongsI LOVE the songs of GUTS, but I'd be crazy to say I don't have my favorite ones. So I'm going to list them, and even better, I'm going to give you the reason why they're the best. Is this all my opinion? Yes. However, I hope to pique your interest enough to get you to give it a listen. Let's get started.
My first faves are Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl and Making The Bed, two songs that are by no means sonically similar, but thematically. Both seem to be about the anxiety of life, Ballad focusing on her fear of social interaction after being trapped in the bubble of homeschooling during her childhood, while Bed more focuses on the pains of fame as her life seeps into adulthood, knowing full well that she dug that grave for herself. They are overly self-aware tracks that are a little too relatable, distilling the dilemmas of her rather fortunate life down to a place where anyone, regardless of privilege, could understand. And production-wise, the songs are blissful, even though they are radically unrelated. One takes punk inspiration from the '90s and '00s while Making The Bed is (ironically) more of a synthy, sad, scornful "ballad." This neighboring pair deserve to be featured, the emotion behind them and their meaning together acting as perfect insights into the experiences of both her and the modern teen. But the next tracks blow this out of the water.
Vampire and The Grudge are some of the few ACTUAL ballads on GUTS, sounding strangely similar as they slowly build up to a climax over a piano production that just screams sorrow. They are definitely in that 20% of this album that sounds like 80% of SOUR, akin to Drivers License more than anything. However, I kind of love that. On this grungy and gritty gallery of goodness are suites of somber saturating every side, a single shade showering my thoughts: purple. Many think of that color as one of royalty, of prestige, of ambition, which are not terrible words to associate with, but for me and seemingly Olivia, who has made purple the main hue of her work, the tint hints rather at melancholy and moxie. That is an immaculate description of Vampire and Grudge, exploring two different relationships and putting them through the lens of a bloodsucker or unfinished business, spilling her guts (pun intended) and opening up about how she has been hurt. It's sad, but brave, and maybe, just maybe, these songs can act as an understanding that love will not always work out, yet always will leave you with lessons to learn from. That's remarkable wisdom for a set of songs. Though thinking that Rodrigo is a perfect model of morality would be far from true, as my final favorites give into a whole new side of seeing love.
No one wants to loathe, to be jealous, to hate themselves for the crimes of others. Yet Olivia Rodrigo does time and time again on her newest album, coming clean about the fact that yes, she has, and yes, she regrets it. This is where Lacy and Logical enter the picture, the fourth and seventh tracks of her second release, as they tackle them head-on and are by far the best come from this body of work. Relateable? Sure. Angelic? Absolutely! Each track starts off soft and then comes in with a hard hit, sonically swelling you with sudden sounds that can only be said as spiritual; not in the religious sense, but in a way where you feel like you are literally rising from your seat as your ears are gifted a sound only Olivia and her producer Dan Nigro could conceive. Their emotion, epicness, earnestness, and expressiveness, especially at the bridge where the instrumental goes from simple to sophisticated, can't be put into words. Though hers are quite good at doing that, gripping you in with instant poetic value and metaphors, introducing a sense of rhythm to the rising roars of guitars or 808s rushing your mind. The existences of Lacy and Logical alone give a reason as to why I'd recommend GUTS to begin with, their ethereal, rollercoaster-like nature delving into a side of music I pray I am not by myself in loving. It's probably why I like Queen, why Taylor Swift's Midnights and 1989 albums speak so much to me, as, sure, they are popular, but they are for good reason. And for Queen especially, they are known for switching things up in the middle of a song, for bringing their listeners on a journey, embuing emotions of either gloom or glee wherever needed. That's the type of music I love, that's why I love music: not for the lyrics or the meaning, but the feeling; the rest is just a cherry on top. And Olivia's GUTS? It's the whole Goddamn sundae. That's the pinnacle of perfection.
ConclusionMy music taste may be minute, but the magic that is Rodrigo's music must be marveled at. GUTS is perfect; it is everything a fan of pop, of punk rock, of sound for God's sake, would want, and mind you this woman is only twenty (puts me to shame). The experiences she has had, the depth of her words, and the range of her voice come together into one place for all to enjoy, and I feel lucky to exist at this time, on this planet, at this age to hear it. The total twenty-three tracks of her purposely punky and poignantly purple career are spectacles of the sonic journey music is supposed to bring you on, with all the ups and downs, crushes and breakups, and triumphs and tears of life. I only have one problem with GUTS: it ends. If that's the only complaint your fans have, then, as an artist, you've done your job. And that's all anyone could ask for.
Now she's back, as on September 8th, Rodrigo released her sophomore record GUTS, and there's only one way to describe it: f— amazing. EVERYTHING, from the songs and their production to the vocals and her lyrics, is just perfect. The album is playful, cathartic, ethereal, and melancholic that, in comparison to her acclaimed SOUR, is better in a million ways (and I love those eleven tracks). This new piece takes what was 20% of that original and makes it 100% perfect, stemming from the cores of Good 4 U, Brutal, and Jealousy, Jealousy for a more rock-focused collection. But some more somber tunes, "purple pop" as I am deciding to categorize them, live on the album, too, harkening back to Olivia's debut with softer and increasingly melodramatic takes. Regardless, I have been blasting the twelve tumultuous tracks of GUTS since Friday, laughing, crying, and ascending to heaven through my listens, finding my favorites out of the bunch. But to be completely honest, they are all top-tier, and if that is not a testament to their quality, I don't know what is.
Favorite SongsI LOVE the songs of GUTS, but I'd be crazy to say I don't have my favorite ones. So I'm going to list them, and even better, I'm going to give you the reason why they're the best. Is this all my opinion? Yes. However, I hope to pique your interest enough to get you to give it a listen. Let's get started.
My first faves are Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl and Making The Bed, two songs that are by no means sonically similar, but thematically. Both seem to be about the anxiety of life, Ballad focusing on her fear of social interaction after being trapped in the bubble of homeschooling during her childhood, while Bed more focuses on the pains of fame as her life seeps into adulthood, knowing full well that she dug that grave for herself. They are overly self-aware tracks that are a little too relatable, distilling the dilemmas of her rather fortunate life down to a place where anyone, regardless of privilege, could understand. And production-wise, the songs are blissful, even though they are radically unrelated. One takes punk inspiration from the '90s and '00s while Making The Bed is (ironically) more of a synthy, sad, scornful "ballad." This neighboring pair deserve to be featured, the emotion behind them and their meaning together acting as perfect insights into the experiences of both her and the modern teen. But the next tracks blow this out of the water.
Vampire and The Grudge are some of the few ACTUAL ballads on GUTS, sounding strangely similar as they slowly build up to a climax over a piano production that just screams sorrow. They are definitely in that 20% of this album that sounds like 80% of SOUR, akin to Drivers License more than anything. However, I kind of love that. On this grungy and gritty gallery of goodness are suites of somber saturating every side, a single shade showering my thoughts: purple. Many think of that color as one of royalty, of prestige, of ambition, which are not terrible words to associate with, but for me and seemingly Olivia, who has made purple the main hue of her work, the tint hints rather at melancholy and moxie. That is an immaculate description of Vampire and Grudge, exploring two different relationships and putting them through the lens of a bloodsucker or unfinished business, spilling her guts (pun intended) and opening up about how she has been hurt. It's sad, but brave, and maybe, just maybe, these songs can act as an understanding that love will not always work out, yet always will leave you with lessons to learn from. That's remarkable wisdom for a set of songs. Though thinking that Rodrigo is a perfect model of morality would be far from true, as my final favorites give into a whole new side of seeing love.
No one wants to loathe, to be jealous, to hate themselves for the crimes of others. Yet Olivia Rodrigo does time and time again on her newest album, coming clean about the fact that yes, she has, and yes, she regrets it. This is where Lacy and Logical enter the picture, the fourth and seventh tracks of her second release, as they tackle them head-on and are by far the best come from this body of work. Relateable? Sure. Angelic? Absolutely! Each track starts off soft and then comes in with a hard hit, sonically swelling you with sudden sounds that can only be said as spiritual; not in the religious sense, but in a way where you feel like you are literally rising from your seat as your ears are gifted a sound only Olivia and her producer Dan Nigro could conceive. Their emotion, epicness, earnestness, and expressiveness, especially at the bridge where the instrumental goes from simple to sophisticated, can't be put into words. Though hers are quite good at doing that, gripping you in with instant poetic value and metaphors, introducing a sense of rhythm to the rising roars of guitars or 808s rushing your mind. The existences of Lacy and Logical alone give a reason as to why I'd recommend GUTS to begin with, their ethereal, rollercoaster-like nature delving into a side of music I pray I am not by myself in loving. It's probably why I like Queen, why Taylor Swift's Midnights and 1989 albums speak so much to me, as, sure, they are popular, but they are for good reason. And for Queen especially, they are known for switching things up in the middle of a song, for bringing their listeners on a journey, embuing emotions of either gloom or glee wherever needed. That's the type of music I love, that's why I love music: not for the lyrics or the meaning, but the feeling; the rest is just a cherry on top. And Olivia's GUTS? It's the whole Goddamn sundae. That's the pinnacle of perfection.
ConclusionMy music taste may be minute, but the magic that is Rodrigo's music must be marveled at. GUTS is perfect; it is everything a fan of pop, of punk rock, of sound for God's sake, would want, and mind you this woman is only twenty (puts me to shame). The experiences she has had, the depth of her words, and the range of her voice come together into one place for all to enjoy, and I feel lucky to exist at this time, on this planet, at this age to hear it. The total twenty-three tracks of her purposely punky and poignantly purple career are spectacles of the sonic journey music is supposed to bring you on, with all the ups and downs, crushes and breakups, and triumphs and tears of life. I only have one problem with GUTS: it ends. If that's the only complaint your fans have, then, as an artist, you've done your job. And that's all anyone could ask for.
SourcesRodrigo, Olivia. “GUTS.” Olivia Rodrigo, https://www.oliviarodrigo.com. Accessed 12 September 2023.
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