Sour (studio album) by Olivia Rodrigo

From spigelwii 01/28/2022 10:58

Eminently listenable unlike so many releases from this upcoming generation of musical talents. Understated production serves the simple songs well, especially when she goes all early-T-Swift. The album would be better served to mix up the whining a little, but there are some significant musical moments nowhere to be found on a Billie Eilish release, particularly with the schizophrenically arranged "good 4 u" and bangers "brutal" and "jealousy, jealousy".

Bottom line: Rodrigo gets it. It would be a mistake to write this album off as "another Gen-Z mopefest". (Personal anecdore: This is a mistake that I myself almost made until The Solid Verbal podcast turned me on to it. Thanks, Ty.)

"Sour" is the authentic teenage experience. Angst, low self esteem, and probably too strong of emotions are the center of the album. The more pop punk tracks are fantastic. "Brutal" has this strong stop start rhythm that puts emphasis on the end of the chorus and "Jealousy, Jealousy" has this building guitar work that hits with force. Unfortunately, the majority of tracks are slower quieter emotional ballads. These are significantly less instrumentally interesting and produced in a more typical pop manner. To their credit, only "Hope Ur Ok" feels out of place within the narrative of the album. The lion share of slow tracks prevents a more positive experience but if I was the targeted demographic, the album would hit me like a ton of bricks.

From paladisiac 12/08/2021 20:06

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From arturguerra 11/16/2021 12:59

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Is it jaw dropping or earth shattering? Definitely not. Is it enough to raise an eyebrow and make me want to keep an eye on where Ms. Rodrigo goes from here? 100% without a doubt.

From ddeeddles64 07/26/2021 03:28

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From HoldenM 06/29/2021 05:49

What you see is what you get. And you're either into a young person work through their heartbreak, or it's not for you. In fact, I'm reminded a lot of debuts like Pure Heroine or Camp. There's a lot of superficial musical points of reference and influences, and there's a lot of feeling and perspective, even if it's a little lacking in cohesion or musicality. I have confidence that Olivia Rodrigo can only go up from here.

From indieshins 06/20/2021 07:12

Solid start to her career. It's not very consistent and it's a bit repetitive, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. There's some genuine, cathartic angst here and some beautiful honesty, even if it feels a bit slickly produced for what's actually being expressed. The punky songs (Brutal and Good 4 U) are my favourites. Looking forward to seeing where her career goes from here, I hope she finds a bit more of a unique voice going forward.

From mdbaxter 06/15/2021 17:19

Formulaic and basic shit. The artist (if she is actually real and not just a Disney AI) isn't untalented but these songs are mostly just catchy garbage with little to no substance behind them. The bridges are unbearably contrived, in my opinion. Wouldn't be surprised if this album could photosynthesize.

From Radioscope 06/09/2021 14:31

A tad repetitive. The overstated teen angst has its hits and misses, but overall quite solid. The music itself might not be groundbreaking but if these types of albums rekindle the interest for rock sounds BY ALL MEANS BE MY GUEST, as these gen-Z pop stars are our only hope for a rock revival.

God, I feel old.