Best of 2023: Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS
By Emmery Clemments
Spilling your guts is better than staying sour, at least according to Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore release GUTS. Rodrigo steps into the intersection of pop, alternative and rock to create a powerhouse album of honesty and anxiety that serves as a mirror image of young adult existence.
Rodrigo first rose to fame through Disney, starring in Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. She released her first album, SOUR, in May, 2021. Since the release of GUTS in September of this year, she contributed “Can’t Catch Me Now” to the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
While most people’s sophomore experiences are chaotic, GUTS is well-organized and connects the first song to the last. Yet, Rodrigo still allows for variation in the way she expresses her emotions; she lets out a literal scream in the bridge on “all-american bitch,” but sits in quiet contemplation on “teenage dream”. On “all-american bitch” she cloaks her emotions, resenting that “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed / I’m the eternal optimist”. It’s power is further highlighted by the switch from releasing her inner demons to angelic harmonization, bewitching herself and her audience to see that she’s “grateful all the time,” meant to harbor no negative emotions. On “teenage dream”, anger over expectations turns into an honest examination of fear, the strings in the second verse allowing for dramatic resonance. The bridge sums up her worries as she sings “they all say that it gets better, it gets better / but what if I don’t?” The second half of the bridge breaks into the power of the drums and vocals, fear turning frantic.
Drawing on the same emotions of “all-american bitch” and “teenage dream,” Rodrigo dives deeper into her desire to be perfect in the public eye. She admits that she “stopped eating cake on birthdays” on “pretty isn’t pretty” as she faces public scrutiny at all times. Rodrigo’s forced perfection is reminiscent of “jealousy, jealousy” with added anxiety, singing she “bought a new prescription / to try and stay calm”. The track leaves room for her vocal performance and lyrics to soar, the instrumentation itself comparatively fixed.
Jealousy expands into obsession on “lacy” as she paints the picture of the girl she wishes she could be. Both “the sweetest thing on this side of hell” and “made of angel dust,” she presents a heaven/hell dichotomy. The somewhat dark lyrics are juxtaposed with an innocent acoustic guitar backdrop, layered vocals mirroring the voices in her head. It is almost as if she is talking to herself in the outro, her voice turning into a haunted, melodic whisper as she says “I despise my jealous eyes.”
Not only is Rodrigo haunted by what could be, she is left with ghostly flashbacks of her past. In “the grudge,” she says that “I have nightmares each week about that Friday in May,” revealing her inability to move on. The layered interaction between the piano and the plucked strings is almost “drivers license-esque” in the power of its simplicity. The emotionally charged bridge with layered vocals captures a melancholy image of failed romance, symbolized by “flowers filled with vitriol.” The rise slips into a quiet final chorus, leaving her lost in the memories she is trying to escape.
“vampire” turns rationalization into rage as she sings of a failed relationship and how she can “still see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when I close my eyes.” If Twilight was set in The Matrix, “vampire” would be its theme song. A simple piano dances through the first chorus, pumped up by the introduction of the kick drum and guitar in the second verse to make a heartbreak song you can dance to. She sings “the way you sold me for parts / as you sunk your teeth into me” to call out the “bloodsucker” in one breath, fueled only by rage; her breath control is insane. The song clearly references a chaotic romantic journey and producer Dan Nigro takes us on the back-and-forth with well-placed panning before Rodrigo’s snarky statement that “girls your age know better”.
As someone who was homeschooled for a grand total of one year, “ballad of a homeschooled girl” is a perfect, panicky and guitar-ridden representation of social anxiety. Not knowing how to interact, she says “I stumbled over all my words / I made it weird then made it worse.” The backing track is relatively static for the majority of the song, which is a bit of a departure from the album’s pattern. Background vocal additions, like a subtle “uh huh” or “how to flirt,” personify frenetic Google searches. The fuzzy guitar emphasizes Rodrigo’s distraction, even saying she “can’t think of a third line”. Her vocal performance at the end of the track is like she’s catching her breath, recovering from a social situation. Rodrigo further explores her relationships in “making the bed”. A quieter track, she makes excellent use of space. In the chorus, the dropped instrumental as she admits it is “me who’s been making the bed” adds impact to the synth and her accountability. As she enters the second verse, the synth feels nearly eerie, emphasizing social paranoia. The melody remains relatively simple in the verses, matching the blunt “thought it so I said it” and “did it so it’s done” feelings. As the song progresses, the idea that Rodrigo is overwhelmed by expectations in social relationships, her emotions pour out into a quiet honest in the outro, underscored by overdrive on the guitar as she comes to terms with her acoustic thoughts.
Being honest with herself is a consistent theme throughout the album, as she recognizes her own role in a toxic relationship throughout “logical”. This track is incredibly poetic; she paints the picture of falling into an idyllic yet cold relationship and sings “I fell for you like water falls from the February sky”. Rodrigo once more allows her lyrics to be the center of attention by including minimalistic piano. Unique from the other tracks that also begin with an acoustic focus, the chorus brings layered piano and strings with limited percussion that quickly fades upon the arrival of the second verse to keep the vocal performance in the forefront of the track. Again connecting to her previous experiences, she sings “I’m sure that girl is really your friend”, bringing to mind her rhetorical question on “traitor” when she sang “ain’t it funny? / how you said you were friends / now it sure as hell don’t look like it?” The final chorus adds a gritty, glitchy guitar that fades into the reverb vocals of an internal conversation.
Among her honesty, it becomes clear that even famous musicians succumb to delusion as indicated by “bad idea, right?” A drum and guitar heavy song with an energetic bass, monotonous vocals on “yes, I know that he’s my ex” feels repetitive, as if she’s said it to herself a million times. The crescendo into the frank “fuck it, it’s fine,” is like all of the input from herself and her friends that drops into an impulsive decision. When she sings “I cannot hear my thoughts,” it is almost like all of the voices from those around her, appearing in the harmonies, make it impossible to make a decision for herself — so she chooses an extreme.
When bad decisions run their course, Rodrigo decides to “get him back!” This track is a bit of a slower tempo, if only to allow room for the distinct and mildly threatening double meaning of “get him back”. She sings, “I want sweet revenge / and I want him again”. The drums build power until they disappear into the quiet rage of the bridge when she admits “I wanna kiss his face / with an uppercut” and “I wanna meet his mom / just to tell her her son sucks,” the latter line being my personal favorite, incredibly petty revenge tactic. Although there is a relatively simple backing track for the majority of the song, the crescendo in tempo and volume before the second-to-last chorus that breaks into an almost chanted anthem drives home the mental back-and-forth between desire and logic that is both addicting and relatable.
Rodrigo has no trouble making fun of herself on “love is embarrassing,” taking ownership of her past relationships. Almost a reference to “deja vu,” she sings “you found a new version of me / and I damn near started World War Three,” undoubtedly a callback to SOUR’s love triangle drama. “love is embarrassing” is kicked off with a synth sound that feels almost plucked out of the 80s that melts into the 90s aesthetic that Rodrigo loves so much with booming drums and a little overdrive bass in the intro. She states facts with a level of comic incredulity, saying “just watch as I crucify myself for / some weird second string loser who’s not worth mentioning”. It’s like she is making fun of herself for “coming back for more” in the bridge and outro, each section connected with guitar transitions.
While there are over-consistencies in the structure of the songs, Rodrigo’s lyricism and performance coupled with Nigro’s production allows for the creation of an amazing release that sums up the young adult experience.
This review is part of EMMIE’s Best of 2023 series. Keep an eye out on our website throughout December, as we will regularly post full album reviews of this year’s greatest hits.