Rodrigo strikes again! Olivia Rodrigo is a 20-year-old actress, singer, songwriter, and superstar who rose to fame from her hit song “Driver’s License” off of her debut album Sour. Rodrigo is known for her songs about heartbreak, growing up, and teen angst. In her new album, released Friday, September 8th, 2023, she tackles the emotions of heartbreak, revenge, ire, and maturing. She explains that sort of familiar teenage feeling everyone has experienced in her own words that captivate it so well. Compared to her debut album Sour, Guts contains more upbeat and angsty songs that express that post-breakup rage and maturing emotion rather than the sad, post-breakup songs we were used to on Sour.
She starts the album out with a bang. “All american b**ch” is a sort of angsty, sarcastic song that teaches us the emotions and stereotypes of being a teenager and how they’re expected to act in society. She gives off that sarcastic tone in the lyrics, such as “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed, I’m the eternal optimist- I scream inside to deal with it!” Here, she demonstrates how most Gen-Z teenagers put on a facade, acting totally fine even when that isn’t true.
Later on, she ends the album with “Teenage Dream.” In this song, she truly captivates the feeling of growing up; the feeling as you realize you’re growing up, and the rest of your life is undecided. She sings about people’s claims of “It gets better the more you grow.” She then follows up with the question of “What if I don’t?” It’s that sort of feeling when you realize you’re growing up and you can take any path you want. She also questions when all of her excuses of “learning [her] lesson” will not be enough. As a kid, you get away with a lot more than an adult, so she wonders when that magical “get out of jail free card” disappears. The feeling of growing up is always a hard adjustment and the sentiment to your adulthood is unknown.
Those two aren’t the only great tracks on the album, though. As a matter of fact, they’re not even the best ones. The top 5 tracks on GUTS are:
5.) “The Grudge”
In this song, Rodrigo emphasizes the importance of not forgiving someone automatically when they have wronged you. As you grow up, you are taught to forgive and forget. But sometimes, people who have really wronged you don’t always just get to receive the gift that is forgiveness. “The Grudge” was written to emphasize that sometimes it takes a lot to forgive someone, including strength, but it’s okay to not feel strong enough to do so right away.
4.) “Lacy”
“Lacy” is a song about obsession over insecurities. Everyone has a “Lacy” in their life: whether it’s a family member, a friend, or even a celebrity. Lacy is a pseudonym used as a person Rodrigo is mesmerized by and also a personification of her insecurities. She is so mesmerized by Lacy and refers to her as a “dear angel,” who is “made of angel dust.” She says she feels Lacy’s compliments like “bullets on skin.” This refers to Lacy, being exactly how Rodrigo wishes she were, and her compliments feel like pity because of how beautiful Lacy is and how Lacy has the “one thing that I want.” Rodrigo says, “I linger all the time, watching, hidden, in plain sight.” She can’t help but watch Lacy, and slowly turn into her. She later says, “I despise my rotten eyes and how hard they fell for you.” Throughout the song, we see Lacy start to become romanticized as if Rodrigo wants to be with this person because of how starstruck she is by her.
3.) “Get Him Back!”
“Get Him Back!” is a statement used cleverly in two different ways throughout this song. Rodrigo displays her eagerness to get back with her ex, but also to gett back at him in terms of revenge. She displays this through the chorus when she states, “I want sweet revenge. I want him again.” This song sort of represents that feeling of leaving a toxic relationship. When you leave, you miss that person, but when you remember the way they treated you, all you want to do is get them back.
2.) “Love is Embarrassing”
“Love is Embarrassing” is honestly such a relatable song for most likely all of Gen Z. Rodrigo states, “God, loves f*****g embarrassing!” This is such an embodiment of awkwardness when you realize being lovey-dovey over someone over somebody when you’re crushing/dating is honestly just embarrassing. She mostly conveys the idea of just going with the flow and not wasting your time. She states, “I’ll give up everything, I’m planning out my wedding with some guy I’m never marrying!” This represents that sort of 2000s rom-com movie fawning over a person, when honestly, it’s just a waste of breath.
1.) “Making the Bed”
This song will forever and ever hold a special place in my heart. I think this song really resonates with me because it is just about bettering oneself. As humans, everyone has made decisions they’re not proud of. Everyone has also had people in their lives who do not see the best in them. “making the bed” exhibits this perfectly. Rodrigo states, “Push away all the people who know me the best, but it’s me who’s been making the bed.” What she writes is that you must push people away to focus on yourself, and although people may look at you and think you’re in the wrong, focusing on yourself is the most important thing we can do. To improve yourself, even if people don’t notice, is such an important part of life.
In conclusion, Guts is honestly one of the best albums of the year. It conveys being a teenager and just living life in so many contrasting shapes and forms. Overall, it warrants a 10/10. Every single lyric of the album is relatable, and hopefully you’ll relate to them all, too!