Olivia Rodrigo nailed it with her first album, SOUR, making the suspense high as she released her second album GUTS on September 8th. Olivia debunked all of the second album pitfalls with her most messy songs yet and here is my review of them –
“all-american b****” is the first song on the 12 track album and it for sure sets the tone. It starts off soft, a little Lana Del Rey sounding but then transitions to a pop-punk sound. This track was perfect to start off the album with. 8/10.
“bad idea right?” was the second single released on GUTS. Giving the same pop-punk sound, it gives us a complete 180 from “vampire”, the first single from GUTS. It is giving early 2000s teen movie. 7/10.
“vampire” was the first single released off of GUTS. This song is more of a classic Olivia song, as it sounds alike to SOUR. The song lyrically is just ok, but she does sound outstanding. 7/10.
“lacy”. Beautiful masterpiece. My personal favorite, “lacy” is about “falling under the spell of a fantasy ideal”. Nobody knows who Lacy is, but there is some suspicion as to who it is. Her voice is soft but crisp at the same time and I would say it is the best listen on the album. 10/10.
“ballad of a homeschooled girl” is track 5 on GUTS. This song does not do much for me. If you listened to SOUR, it sounds a little bit like “brutal”, so this song seems a bit familiar to me. I had higher expectations. 5/10.
“making the bed” is another favorite of mine. Beautifully written and her voice fits the song so well. “making the bed” is about the pain Olivia endures from the situations she puts herself in. You can hear the pain in her voice, which makes this song different than the others. 9/10.
“logical” is a track on GUTS that expresses Olivia’s false hope. The lyrics “and now you’ve got me thinking’ two plus two equals five and I’m the love of your life” shows her pain in getting manipulated and humiliated by a guy. “logical” is a good song to scream sing. 8/10.
“get him back!”is another one to scream sing. “get him back!” is about a guy who she wants to get back by keying his car and kissing his face… with an uppercut. The lyrics are catchy and relatable. 9/10.
“love is embarrassing” is another song that did not do much for me. The lyrics aren’t that good and the instruments don’t sound that good. 6/10.
“the grudge” is a powerful song lyrically. “We both drew blood but those cuts were never equal” is one of my favorite lyrics of the album. 10/10 lyrics but 8/10 song.
“pretty isn’t pretty” is about insecurity and how it does damage to every level of life. 7/10.
“teenage dream” is the last song on the album and it wraps up Olivia Rodrigo’s album with a strong piano intro and she sings about her fear of being a troubled “ingenue”. The ending instrumental as it fades out is in similar to sound to “drivers license” off of SOUR, which I do like how it is a full circle moment. 9/10.
My overall rating of GUTS is a 8/10. There are some masterpieces on this album, but she also tried to experience with the pop-punk sound, and it is an acquired taste. Her lyric writing is getting a lot better and her voice is maturing beautifully. I recommend giving this album a listen.
