By Emma Weidmann | Arts and Life Editor
With the release of Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, “GUTS,” it’s time to admit the truth. For an album called “GUTS,” it sure has very little gusto, as Rodrigo doesn’t dare to make music that sounds new and doesn’t borrow — or more accurately, slyly slip elements from other music into its pockets like a thief in Target.
Believe it or not, I’m actually not trying to focus on the negatives, and I don’t hate Olivia’s “GUTS.” I’m just pointing out what has plagued pop music for decades and what will continue to make pop music bland despite some artists’ better efforts.
While not without some pitfalls, “GUTS” is a clever album. The song “get him back!” is a cute double entendre — a play on getting revenge and making up with an ex, and the conflicting feelings when our expert of teen angst wants both. But no amount of wit can hide the lingering boringness of the song itself.
From the jump, there is some California inspiration in the background vocals. During the verse, they’re scarily similar to the backing vocals in “Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It sounds like an odd comparison, but listen to both back-to-back and you just might hear it.
Simultaneously, “get him back!” sounds like One Direction’s “Midnight Memories,” from the opening drumsticks and shout of “one, two, three” to the rhythm of the track: a stomping, boom-boom-clap type of beat. Both are 80 beats per minute. Both are in 4/4 time signature with eerily similar chord progressions.
Don’t think I’ll let One Direction get away with its own lack of originality either. Off the same “Midnight Memories” album, “Best Song Ever” is totally ripped from The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” The point is that most pop music is morphing into one single song, one amalgamation of an album. Pretty soon, you’ll play a new record and you will have heard it already. What’s the point anymore?
There are other songs on this album that make the same mistake of being unoriginal. For instance, “lacy” is strikingly similar to Gracie Abrams’ “Amelie.” Wispy guitar and vocals that make the song sound as if it were sung by a Victorian ghost seem to be the order of the day, but it’s my opinion that each new indie girl singer who makes music of this style is just a copy of a copy. Everyone wants to be the new Phoebe Bridgers: Abrams, Lizzy McAlpine and Rodrigo herself.
“lacy” and “Amelie” don’t just bear sonic resemblances. The similarities are lyrical too. Rodrigo says, “I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you,” while Abrams sings, “she doesn’t know I’d let her ruin all my days.”
The following is true of both songs: Jealousy of another girl turns into an obsession bordering on romantic in nature. An ethereal, pretty girl effortlessly attracts others, making the singer feels inadequate, envious and strangely in love.
Even though I have my reservations about this ballad style of singing, I do prefer it to Rodrigo’s other trick: the girl-band-style pop punk that makes up the rest of the album and broadly characterized her first record, “SOUR,” as well. The production of these is better, being so much softer and more enjoyable to listen to than the forced soprano strain of songs like breakout hit single “bad idea, right?” and album opener “all-american b*tch.”
This makes “the grudge” one of the strongest songs on the album. Lyrically, Rodrigo masterfully spells out conflicting feelings and the desperate attempts to understand a cruel breakup. You’d think the torture of reliving it and the way she holds onto “every detail like my life depends on it … my undying love … like a grudge” is almost sickeningly enjoyable for her. She wins arguments in the mirror, fantasizes about twisting the knife and gets satisfaction from the mere thought of dishing out what she was served. It’s a good example of when Rodrigo’s songwriting abilities are at their best.
Another thing I enjoy about this album — and something that I think sets it apart from a lot of new music — is how Rodrigo plays with rhythm and spoken lyrics. On songs like “ballad of a homeschooled girl” and “bad idea, right?” she hops and skips on the beat and switches things up verse-to-verse in a fun way. With the exception of Dominic Fike, I don’t really see a lot of artists tinkering with rhythm the way that Rodrigo does on this album.
At the end of the day, Rodrigo is a very young artist. At just 20 years old, she has catapulted herself into the spotlight and made it look effortless. It may just be the workings of the Disney machine behind all of this success, but here’s to hoping that Rodrigo’s third album, whenever we may hear it, taps into something wholly her own. I’d like to see her go for something fresh and unique — and hopefully happier.
