Music has always been an escape to artists, and their listeners hearing every lyric and every sound in the song can impact how you feel at that precise time. Since appearing on the music scene with her debut single, from ‘High School Musical: The Series‘, ‘All I Want‘, Olivia Rodrigo has shined a light in the industry.
While having a brilliant acting career, Rodrigo has found her love in music and drawing everyone within her music too. She has gone from having number one at the Billboard Hot 100 to performing at the Brits 2021 while meeting her idol. She has been a huge hit, and she is ready to show the world more when she released her debut album, ‘Sour‘, recently.
Setting the tone of her album was ‘Brutal‘, from the impression of her other songs, thinking it was going to be a delicate, sweet sound, turned out to transition to a roaring, uptempo, electrical, rock sound. The first track gave the impression that this will be an album that would show a different personality of Rodrigo.
‘Brutal‘ explains how life can be complicated and harsh at times, describing a real view of life, indicating that there are rocky roads within it, and the outcome of these obstacles in life can push a new outlook on yourself, changing who you are. With the intro of Olivia’s voice, saying how she wants it to be ‘messy’, the album achieved this, turning it into a delightful, emotional mess of art, which can sum up how life can be.
Along with ‘Brutal‘ being a heavy, energetic sound, ‘Good for U‘ is another example of the distinct sounds of the ‘Sour‘ album. Elements of punk music and alternative rock is what these two songs on the album radiate. ‘Good for U‘ is about finding your ex is in a better place with a new loved one, enjoying life. It tears your heart in pieces, leaving you with a sour feeling. “Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy/ Not me, if you ever cared to ask/Good for you, you’re doin’ great out there without me.“
‘Sour‘ explores the dark, painful emotions in life that can turn you into someone new. It can either make you stronger or leave you in a disorientated place. Olivia expresses the hurt and heartbreak people go through in their lives; it can decipher what it is like for women in their early adulthood, where big events in life can tweak their personality.
Although it reveals strength when Olivia sings powerfully to the top of her lungs, she also leaves a vulnerable side in some of the tracks. Songs such as ‘Happier‘ and ‘Enough for You‘ separate from the fearless theme in the punk and rock tracks and moves closer into a sweet, tearful piano melody where the true feelings come out, where she admits how much pain she is feeling in the heartbreak. In ‘Enough for You‘, it shows that relationships can be chaotic where you try to be someone your not and not showing your true self, “I wore makeup when we dated/ ‘Cause I thought you’d like me more/If I looked like the other prom queens/ I know that you loved before.“
Looking at Olivia Rodrigo’s songs so far, it shows how she is going through a journey herself, where she wrote in ‘All I Want‘ fantasising about finding the right one, to writing about how unpredictable and messed up life and relationships can be. Sour is an album that shows how you are not always the same person, you develop over time, and things go up and down like a yo-yo. It is an extraordinary album full of emotion that you can relate to. It is a perfect heartbreak soundtrack, so why not listen to it now?