Olivia Rodrigo, childhood actress and up and coming musician, has just dropped her sophomore album GUTS on September 8. With the release of her two singles, “vampire” and “bad idea right?”, fans were anxious to hear this album after waiting two years since the release of SOUR, her wildly successful debut album.
Image courtesy of Geffen Records.
Her success cannot only be attributed to being a gifted lyricist and vocalist; her brand and attention to detail are what truly gives her an edge in the music industry. The YouTube lyric videos, the order of the album, and the teasers have really upped the ante.
Upon first listening to the album, I couldn’t help but notice the shift in genre and attitude. SOUR was no doubt a breakup album, but many people can agree that her first album was about teenage angst and the sour feelings of teenage life, especially for someone under the limelight.
GUTS, which is a fitting title for this album, feels vulnerable and intimate in a way that makes listeners truly feel like Rodrigo is spilling her guts to us. As someone close in age to her, I felt the transition of the albums is very reflective of someone growing up from the mistakes and hurts of her teenage years and being able to honestly share her story from a place of growth rather than a place of anger.
Rodrigo is a storyteller above all, and she does a great job of this with the production of each song, the lyrics and her vocal quality throughout. She and her producer, Dan Nigro, worked to shift the genre of the album away from pop and more towards pop-rock or pop-punk. In an interview with Pop Buzz, Rodrigo says this album has a lot of influence from alternative punk rock bands she grew up listening to, but that doesn’t mean there are a lack of soulful piano ballads throughout the tracks.
She is intentionally making some waves through the social commentary in her songs, and it seems that Rodrigo has proven she intends to stick around because this young woman has a lot more to say. Her new album is out everywhere now and if you choose to buy one of her vinyls, you will have exclusive access to one of her four deluxe tracks; “obsessed,” “scared of my guitar,” “stranger,” and “girl i’ve always been.”