On the closing track of her 2023 album “GUTS”, Olivia Rodrigo asks, “When am I gonna stop being great for my age and just start being good?” Leaving her teenage years behind and foraying into adulthood, her time starts now. “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love” is not just good; it’s absolutely incredible.
Rodrigo is arguably one of the most inspiring Gen Z artists, already accomplishing a lot in her short 23 years of life — three Grammy Awards, an acting career, chart-topping songs (including her first debut single “drivers license”), sold-out tours, pop star feuds, and groundbreaking activism work. It’s needless to say that after almost three years of waiting and a very public relationship, Rodrigo’s third studio album release was one of the most anticipated of this year.
With a backdrop of baby pink and an air of heartbreak, Rodrigo’s album takes us on the arc of her relationship, starting from her perfect, dancing-in-your-room-like-no-one-is-watching first date in her lead single “drop dead” to the depressing, crying-in-the-darkness-of-your-room acceptance of an ended relationship in “cigarette smoke.” Listening to this album is more than just one song after the other; rather, it transports you on an entire journey that makes you want to listen from the front to the back. In this album, Rodrigo has truly found her voice and solidified her sound as the bridge between the journalistic bedroom pop that put her on the map and rock music, which gives her music a distinctive edge. She can do it all; I mean, she literally gave us the most heartbreaking ballad of the entire album just to immediately throw us an upbeat pop-rock synth song and somehow made it work.
One thing that Rodrigo knows how to do well is create a body of work where every song is amazing, and this album is no different. Every song tells a story and adds its own nuanced piece to the entire overarching emotional puzzle. Every song works through the tension of the highs and lows of being in love. Every song has vulnerability in her lyricism — almost like she’s baring her soul for us.
These qualities are brought out in some of my favorite songs of this album. First is “stupid song,” the album’s yearning anthem. This buildup from the sad piano intro to the emotional peak of the last chorus, combined with her poetic lyricism, encapsulates the feeling of running through an open field with the wind in your hair. As she belts “you’re a spark in the dark and my clothes are caught aflame” and “I’m a car speeding down the boulevard without a brake,” the lyrics initially read as a girl intensely falling in love. But when you look closer, her lyrics are actually a little troubling — being physically on fire and (ab)using that driver’s license is not what love is supposed to sound like. The tension between the sense of “Wow, she’s so in love!” and “Woah, she could die!” makes the song less of a huge proclamation of love, while planting the seeds of unease and angst for the rest of the album.
“maggots for brains” is another highlight of this album, even though it’s a song that begins to reveal the lowlights of the relationship. With a synth-y, indie-pop guitar intro and moody, almost monotone vocals at the start, this song is not only an entryway to the cracks beginning to form in the relationship, but also a glimpse into Rodrigo’s more alternative sound — a different kind of rock music first introduced in the angsty teen rage songs of her “GUTS” album. A song about having “maggots for brains, but that’s just a thing that happens when my baby goes away” is a pretty lyrically unique way of illustrating codependency disguised as a normal thing in a relationship. However, she somehow manages to make the song feel relatable by describing the ubiquitous experience of feeling stuck, like “a zombie in my body.” Being able to write a song with a unique sound like hers that’s still able to reach a mainstream audience is what makes Olivia’s music so remarkable. And of course, screaming the lyrics of “what can I do but think of you?” in the bridge is an unforgettable feeling.
“begged” is the underappreciated sister of the other classically heartbreaking song of the album, “less.” The song “less” is about the heartbreak of a failing relationship, but “begged” is about admitting that you’ve failed yourself, which may be even more devastating. Knowing that the love you received feels like “nothing’s quite enough when I know that to get it I begged”? Understanding that you’re getting the bare minimum, but you stay because you still “cling to hope like snow on mountains”? Absolutely heartbreaking.
Rodrigo stepped back to take her three-year break between albums to live an experience, and then turned those feelings into her most successful art yet. We clearly see her growth and development reflected in this album: her vocals are on point, the topics that she addresses are more mature, and overall, she has a confidence in what kind of music she wants to create. Art like Olivia Rodrigo’s reminds us to never stop experiencing the highs and lows of life, as they are what help us flourish for the future.
