**Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that I am not claiming to be right or wrong and simply expressing my own opinions. Everyone is subject to their own thoughts and feelings, In fact that’s one of my favourite things about art, so please feel free to leave your own opinions in the comment section underneath articles!

 

Olivia Rodrigo Guts Album Review/Ranking

By Kayla Harper

 

The talented singer/songwriter, Olivia Rodrigo, shocked the world with the release of her debut album, Sour,  in May of 2021.  Rodrigo, who was only 18 at the time, delved into the intricacies of heartbreak in songs like “traitor”, “happier”, and the iconic lead-single, “driver’s license”, while also maintaining attributes of teenage angst in songs like “brutal” and “jealousy, jealousy”.  The album was greatly successful, even winning Rodrigo three Grammy Awards.

The singer’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Guts, was released on September 8th, 2023 and was not a disappointing follow-up to it’s highly acclaimed predecessor.  Rodrigo maintains a similar  aesthetic on Guts as well as the raw heartbreak and angst we heard in Sour, but more mature and improved.

It is not hard to tell that the talented singer worked to improve her already impressive vocal skills on Guts especially in songs like “all-american bitch” and “vampire”.   From Sour to Guts it is evident that Rodrigo advances in her lyric writing abilities which is most obvious in songs like “lacy” and “the grudge”.

Without further ado, here is my personal ranking and review of each song on the standard version of Rodrigo’s sophomore album, which is of course, subject to change overtime.

12. “bad idea right?”

I want to start by saying, there is no bad song on this album, I find myself jamming to them all.   However, I was not fond of the second promotional single when it first came out.  It took me awhile to appreciate the light-hearted humour and universal relatability expressed in the lyrics of the song.  “bad idea right?” encapsulates our tendency to rationalize our “bad ideas” especially when relative to a possible reunion with your ex.  It’s the kind of song that either hits right away, or takes awhile to grow on you, but once it does, it’s catchy melody is addicting.  The cheeky tone in Rodrigo’s vocals makes it impossible to not sing along while twirling your hair around your finger and rolling your eyes.

11. “pretty isn’t pretty”

The eleventh track, “pretty isn’t pretty” tends to be the most forgettable.  Perhaps it’s because it’s the cliche “insecure girls anthem”, or that the melody doesn’t ever really pick up for me.  Despite this, the song does have it’s catchy moments, a particular part that stands out for me is the second verse were Rodrigo sings, “it’s on the poster on the wall, it’s in the shitty magazines, it’s in my phone, it’s in my head, it’s in the boys I bring to bed.”   The song has a somewhat positive underlying tone, explaining that it doesn’t matter if you don’t feel pretty because no matter what you do, you’ll never reach the unrealistic beauty standards and even when you do, there will always be something else, or new that’s wrong.  I don’t want it’s placement in my ranking to give the impression that it’s a bad song, it is a great song with relatable lyrics, just not my personal favourite.

09. “ballad of a homeschooled girl”

From this point forward, it’s difficult to place the songs in a specific order from ten-to-one because every track is an irresistible hair-brush in the mirror kinda dance party.You do not need to be home-schooled to relate to “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” Rodrigo serves relatable line after line about feeling like an outcast, or the “odd one out.”  The behaviours expressed in the lines,  “I broke a glass, I tripped and fell / told secrets I shouldn’t tell /stumbled over all my words / made it weird, made it worse” is all too familiar to the girls that never felt like they “fit in.”  Rodrigo also appeals to the complications of dating in, “every guy I like is gay” because let’s be honest: we have all been there.  Overall, “ballad of a homeschooled girl” is a relatable, shaking off the embarrassment track, especially for introverts like myself, because let’s be honest, any social event for people like us really is “social suicide.”

10. “get him back!”

“get him back!” is a catchy pop-rock tune filled with lyrics that feel all-too-familiar.  For example, “he had an ego and a temper and a wandering eye, said he’s six-foot-two and I’m like ‘dude nice try,‘” is a universal experience, right?  Rodrigo’s clever lyricism is highlighted in the double meaning of the song’s title.  In the chorus Rodrigo sings, “I want sweet revenge and I want him again,” revealing the double meaning of “get him back.”  She wants to get him back as in she wants the relationship again, and then she wants to get him back as in revenge for how he hurt her. The double meaning is one of my favourite parts of this song because healing is not linear, it is very much back and forth between, “do I love him? do I hate him?” This might be one of my favourites to sing along to on the album simply for the pure sass and pettiness it entails.

08. “love is embarrassing”

Love and the extents we go to for it (or the lack of it) certainly is embarrassing in some cases.  Rodrigo captures the very essence of this theme perfectly in the ninth track on Guts.  Rodrigo’s vocals in this track are almost reminiscent to Lorde’s Melodrama, but with a more pop-leaning sound. Over the catchy melody, Rodrigo delivers many relatable, and certainly embarrassing demonstrations of the things we do when we are blindly in-love, even when it is unrequited: “And I consoled you while you cried over your ex-girlfriend’s new guy my God, how could I be so stupid?” Although it was added last minute, it definitely encapsulates the main themes of the album: love; heartbreak; coming-of-age; and of course, a little unhealthy, delusional obsession, “I’m planning out my wedding with some guy I’m never marrying.”

07. “logical”

The next track is a tear jerk-er which follows similar themes to “love is embarrassing”.  Delving into the illogical extents we go to for love when we are manipulated by it and caught up in ways we can try and change it to be better, when in reality, it is better to just walk away.  The song is especially relatable for those of us who have been in those long-term relationships that probably should not have lasted very long.  “logical” holds what I believe are some of Rodrigo’s most emotionally raw lyrics, “And I fell for you like water falls from the February sky, but now the current’s stronger no, I couldn’t get out if I tried…’Cause loving you is loving every argument you held over my head, brought up the girls you could have instead. Said I was too young, I was too soft, can’t take a joke, can’t get you off.”

06. “teenage dream”

This song hits close to home for anyone who is going through that awkward transition from teenager to adult, trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be.  It encompasses many of the questions we ask ourselves during this time in our life as we naively navigate the world: “When am I gonna stop being wise beyond my years and just start being wise?…When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?…And when does wide-eyed affection and all good intentions start to not be enough?…And when are all my excuses of learning my lessons gonna start to feel sad?”  As one of Rodrigo’s classic piano-led ballads, with her exceptional vocals, and relatable songwriting, it cuts right to the core of any young girl and does not disappoint.

05. “vampire”

The lead single from Guts was immediately likeable for me.  It’s emotionally honest lyrics and raw emotion was exactly what fans were expecting from Rodrigo as a follow-up to Sour, However, it also had a fresh and new maturity.  The entire song being an analogy for people in society who tend to be takers, users, or however you like to prefer to them as vampires was clever on Rodrigo’s part, “I should’ve known it was strange / You only come out at night…The way you sold me for parts as you sunk your teeth into me, oh / Bloodsucker, famefucker, bleedin’ me dry, like a goddamn vampire.” Additionally, I believe this is one of Rodrigo’s most impressive songs vocally.

04. “lacy”

Rodrigo has revealed on multiple occasions that she took poetry classes in between writing Sour and Guts, “lacy” is one of the poems she wrote in these classes.  In contrast to Rodrigo’s usual blunt lyrical style, “lacy” makes use of various literary elements to achieve a more artistic and poetic lyrical style.  The song quickly became one of my favourites because of it’s simplistic, but descriptive lyrics, “Smart sexy Lacy, I’m losing it lately, I feel your compliments like bullets on skin / Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnate, well, aren’t you the greatest thing to ever exist?” In fact, I liked it so much that I learned to play it on guitar almost immediately.  Above all the other songs on the album, I think “lacy” is the most different from Sour and demonstrates the most growth in Rodrigo’s lyrical abilities.

03. “all-american bitch”

I would like to say that the next three are all my favourite because it is difficult to put them in a definitive ranking, however, for the sake of the article, I tried.  Upon the first listen, the opening track, “all-american bitch” caught me off-guard because it was different than anything we had ever heard and expected from Rodrigo.  I am obsessed with the transition from light, pretty acoustic guitars and soft vocals to completely rocking out in the chorus.  Additionally, the teenage angst Rodrigo carried over from Sour to Guts is especially present in this song.  The way it captures and showcases female angst and rage in regards to societal standards is collectively satisfying and relatable for all women young and old, “I’m grateful all the time, I’m sexy and I’m kind, I’m pretty when I cry.”

02. “making the bed”

“making the bed” was originally my favourite song on Guts as I could not get enough of it when it initially came out.  The song plays off of the common phrase, you make the bed you lay in, and it does so in a way that is familiar and accessible, while still maintaining specific details which make the song more personal: “And I tell someone I love them just as a distraction / They tell me that they love me like I’m some tourist attraction.”  Further, the extended metaphor in the second verse is one of my favourite from Rodrigo so far, “And every night, I wake up from this one recurrin’ dream, Where I’m drivin’ through the city and the brakes go out on me, I can’t stop at the red light, I can’t swerve off the road, I read somewhere it’s ’cause my life feels so out of control.” (Since becoming a psychology major, I can no longer hear this lyric without thinking of Freudian dream theories, but it still holds it’s ground).  But what might be my favourite lyric in the song is probably the simplest, and it’s certainly not the first time the phrase has been used, however, it ties together the whole meaning and feeling of the song in one line: “I got the things I wanted, it’s just not what I imagined.” Overall, I think this is one of Rodrigo’s best songs lyrically, sung over an impact instrumental, whilst showcasing her ability to evoke emotions through her voice.

01. “the grudge”

It is safe to say that “the grudge” might arguably be one of Rodrigo’s most emotional songs to date. Led by a simple piano line, heartbreaking lyrics and emotionally powered vocals, “the grudge” is accessible in a way that it can be related to many people and/or situations in our lives, in which we have been betrayed by somebody or something past the point of return.  One of my favourite things in songs like these is when the singer begins singing devastatingly heartbreaking lyrics and just keeps going, and does not really stop until the end of the song.  Sometimes we need songs like that to get it out! Again, second verses just hit: “The arguments that I have won against you in my head, In the shower, in the car and in the mirror before bed. Yeah, I’m so tough when I’m alone and I make you feel so guilty and I fantasize about a time you’re a little fuckin’ sorry.”  I’m pretty sure this one is another universal experience…right?

 

Rodrigo’s sophomore album did not disappoint.  It was exactly what we expected from Rodrigo, well still revealing a new, more mature side of her craft.  Whether you love or hate her, she has a way of writing catchy hooks, with relatively blunt, but clever lyrics that are both universally relatable and cut to the core of the true teenage girlhood experience…if you were ever wondering what it’s like, listen to Olivia Rodrigo, she gets it!