basics

• olivia rodrigo
• label: geffen records

Do you remember when Avril Lavigne put out “Let Go”? I absolutely do, which probably dates me as a fossil, but that album was extremely important in my formative years. Up until that point, I didn’t have my own sense of music, and all of a sudden I did. If I were to look at today’s music scene and pick an artist that gives me the same feeling all these years later, it’s Oliva Rodrigo and her latest album GUTS.

The reason I’m so late writing this review, with GUTS having been out for about two months at the time of writing, is it actually dropped in full while I was in Tokyo. I knew of Oliva from her debut album, SOUR, but it was really thanks to “bad idea right?” becoming a viral tiktok clip that got me interested in her music. So that morning in Tokyo, as I was getting ready to leave the Airbnb, I put the album on and I was immediately blown away.

I’m going to skip talking about the lead single “Vampire” - it’s a great song that’s worthy of praise - but where Oliva really gets me is in songs like the aforementioned “bad idea right?”, “logical”, “get him back!” and “love is embarrassing” - you’re probably sensing a theme here. At 20 years old, Oliva is able to capture things I felt in my mid 20s perfectly in regards to relationships, and the way each song is composed gives me that early-Avril vibe I loved so much as a kid to the point that this album has been stuck in my head, and on repeat almost daily.

While I love Oliva’s upbeat and more “ragey” songs, I can’t deny that when she takes things down to be more slow and soulful she still absolutely shines and evokes those same emotions in a more low-key way, “the grudge” is my favourite example of this. It’s the perfect amount of sad emoting and anger wrapped in a beautiful backing track.

I’m proud to be a “RodrigOld” and I’m extremely interested in seeing where Oliva’s musical journey takes her.

overall rating: 8.5/10