GUTS Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo Spills Her Guts On A Pop-Punk Cult Classic

 GUTS Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo Spills Her Guts On A Pop-Punk Cult Classic

By Dylan Barbee

                                                            Image Provided by @oliviarodrigo on Instagram 

Release Date: September 8, 2023 

Olivia Rodrigo was 17-years old and a Disney star when she dropped a song called “Driver’s License,” where her storytelling about a breakup with a co-star became a teenage anthem. Her debut album SOUR won three Grammys and Rodrigo became the first artist in history to have three singles in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. With the success of SOUR, it was clear that Rodrigo wasn’t going to be another one-hit wonder as she quickly turned into a pop icon for the youth. On her newest album GUTS, the now 20-year-old artist beautifully blends her signature pop ballad songs with the nostalgia of the early 2000s punk sound, which ultimately makes her sophomore album just as good as SOUR. 

 

The 12-song album that spans across a short but sweet 39 minutes is featureless, making Rodrigo’s now two album discography to be all performed solo. She couldn’t make GUTS all alone though as Rodrigo and her SOUR producer and co-writer Daniel Nigro reunited to craft together an album about the young artist’s emotional turmoil in the past three years and how she is owning up to her mistakes. GUTS is another edgy album filled with teenage angst as Rodrigo describes how she copes with social awkwardness, insecurities, and exploitive relationships.

 

On the opening track “all-american bitch” Rodrigo immediately demonstrates how she has blended her influences together by performing a song where folk meets punk rock. The light-hearted folk production within the first minute under Rodrigo’s soft voice makes it sound like a Taylor Swift song until it transitions into an amazing punk track with loud banging drums and an exhilarating electric guitar reminiscent of the early 2000s rock music scene. The song's melodic folk style verses alternating with rambunctious punk chorus throughout the intro track’s entirety makes the mood of the song go all over the place. The messiness of the conflicting styles converging together symbolizes how emotional and confusing it has been for Rodrigo to transition from a teen star to a young adult. “I know my age, and I act like it, '' Rodrigo shouts. Rodrigo screaming her lungs out towards the end of the track feels like she’s unleashing the eternal rage she has been holding in these past three years when it comes to figuring out what kind of young adult artist she wants to be. It's honestly the cherry on top to this spectacular track.

 

Olivia Rodrigo is not the same teenage girl who got her heart broken on SOUR. She has embraced a more bratty and brash side of herself on GUTS, as she romanticizes the idea of talking to her exes again. The mediocre song “bad idea right?” follows the story of how she ditches her friends to go to her ex's house in hopes to rekindle a physical connection over a rock guitar riff that feels like it has been taken out of a Disney show. This reckless tone continues on “get him back!” where Olivia is debating throughout the song whether she wants to get her ex back to inflict revenge on him or to win his love back. “I want to key his car, I want to make him lunch,” Rodrigo sings during the song's psychotic but entertaining bridge. “get him back!” has an anthemic chorus that makes it one of the catchiest songs on the album and makes me picture waves of fans singing it on the GUTS tour. While on “bad idea right?” and “get him back!” Rodrigo talks about her careless choices in an audacious tone, on the ballad “making the bed” she owns up to her mistakes and admits that her being hung up over guys from her past only hurts her and the people around her the most. “Push away all the people who know me the best, but it’s me who’s been making the bed,” Rodrigo sings on an emotional ballad filled with production that makes it seem like the 20-year-old artist’s world is crashing down on her. 

 

Rodrigo uses the punk inspired production to channel her chaotic feelings and the pop ballads on GUTS allow her to be more critical of herself as well as the world around her. “lacy” is a song where Rodrigo criticizes Lacy who is a symbolic character in the song who represents the ideal women and how the standard of being perfect intimidates Rodrigo, making her insecure about her own image. The melancholic production blends well with Rodrigo’s vocals. Rodrigo’s cadence and delivery of the lyrics remind me a lot of Lorde and at times Billie Eilish. “pretty isn't pretty” is another song where Rodrigo criticizes women’s beauty standards and how they bring out her insecurities as a young woman. She talks about the pressure of fitting into an unrealistic set of criteria when it comes to her physical appearance as a woman over a generic pop beat. “There’s always something in the mirror that I think looks wrong, when pretty isn’t pretty enough,” Rodrigo sings.

 

Although the pop ballad songs on GUTS are vulnerable, I feel like Olivia Rodrigo just reused the same formula for them as she did on her previous album. Songs like “teenage dream” and “logical” sound like they could be on SOUR but just very dragged out which make them some of the weakest songs on this album. I feel like the songs where Rodrigo took risks and implemented the punk rock influence in her pop origins were the real standouts. In fact, I wish there were more pop punk songs on GUTS. Songs like “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” and “love is embarrassing,” bring out a satisfyingly brash side of Olivia Rodrigo that I hope to keep seeing whether it be on the GUTS deluxe or in the near future. This pop punk style that Rodrigo has experimented with on GUTS better highlights the emotional turmoil of transitioning from being a teenager to the path to adulthood. 

 

I respect the fact that Olivia Rodrigo stayed true to herself when it comes to the content of the album when talking about breakups and personal insecurities instead of the generic theme of the effects of fame on a young person’s lifestyle. It is inspiring to see a young artist not be a victim of the sophomore album curse and continue to put out anthemic music, using her own musical influences to find her own identity while also experimenting with new sounds and stylistic choices. 

 

GUTS is bound to be another Olivia Rodrigo cult classic as she successfully blended the nostalgic punk rock sound of the early 2000s that bands like Paramore, Green Day, and My Chemical Romance pioneered, into her own pop roots. Rodrigo’s latest album paints a beautifully messy canvas with the idea of spilling her guts out to listeners at its focal point. 

Rating: 8.5/10