Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, GUTS, furthers her status as one of pop’s biggest rising stars. Olivia Rodrigo successfully approaches many of the themes she brought on her debut album, SOUR. After a period of two years with no new music, GUTS sees Rodrigo and her team enter new genres with evolved lyricism and instrumentation that create one of the year’s best albums.
During the first listen to the new album, I immediately noticed the difference between SOUR and GUTS.
The biggest change I noticed is the larger focus on rock and pop punk. Songs like “ballad of a homeschool girl,” “get him back,” and “all-american b*tch!” feature boisterous guitars and combative drums that would feel right at home on a Blink-182 or Avril Lavigne song. For what is her first full journey into pop-punk, Rodrigo fares very well, as her voice is given a new musical canvas to experiment and shine on.
GUTS carries over the ballads that jumpstarted Olivia Rodgrio’s music career, like “drivers license.”
Songs like “making the bed” and “lacy” are perfect examples of Rodrigo’s talent creating ballads. The songs talk about the effects of fame on her life and straight-up homoeroticism that notably weren’t present in her previous work. Even so, Rodrigo’s surreally quick lyrical improvement since SOUR allows these themes to be conveyed with great success.
Rodrigo is still only 20 years old, but her ability to write incredibly relatable lyrics while painting vivid pictures is nothing short of impressive. Additionally, Rodrigo has evolved her sound while keeping its crucial elements in the mix.
GUTS blew me away. The album ranges from rebellious anthems about self-consciousness that sound like they’d be perfect on a Kelly Clarkson B-sides tape to some of the most tender narratives about the troubles of relationships in recent pop history, and Rodrigo is at the center of it all. She is occupying a very special place in pop right now, where everything she touches seems to turn to musical gold, and GUTS is seemingly the fruit of her labors. All in all, it’s one the best albums of the year, and I cannot wait for what she does next.
Olivia Rodrigo confirmed the 2024 GUTS world tour through her Instagram, starting in Feb. 2024 and extending all the way through August.
