Guts
by Olivia Rodrigo

Shortlisted for album of the year at the 2024 Grammys. the winner was Midnights by Taylor Swift (Edited)

Olivia Rodrigo shows us how the future of music can bring new sensations of pleasure as new generations and social interactions evolve with the passage of time. Rodrigo isn’t just pop; she’s more rock than many rock artists today. This might very well be the best album of the year. As such a young yet eloquent songwriter, she manages to craft songs rich in detail and bursting with innovative sounds, all from the perspective of a 20-year-old. (Edited)

From cestuneblague 02/11/2024 00:38 | #301894 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Yeah I think if expectations are tempered enough since the predictable overhype of the now pay-attention-to-us-please music press that seems desperate to crown the Pop-Rocks-and-Mr-Pibb successor to Taylor Swift, this is a solid listen (although the reaction has been surprisingly muted since the album actually dropped, though I still don't think that makes this her Melodrama or eMotion as some have suggested).

It does feel like a full album this time, since her previous felt like a bloated ep that- after a propulsive tablesetter- just kind of reminded you of better songs the further it went along. Here, Guts is at it's best when it embraces it's self-awareness and goes straight for spiky, fast-paced pop, despite the constant can-you-read-the irony-off-my-stuck-out-tongue getting a little predictable her cool-yet-feisty confidence as a performer works well with the elaborate washing machine treatment of 00s era meta-pop styles. However, when the album slows down her limits as a singer have nowhere to hide, and not helped by the increasingly trite piano-skimming compositions that play the bare backing music. Also the one time it really breaks out of it's shell and does something unexpected, it kind of faceplants (two bites at trying to figure ou what that song is). Again, maybe it's just the lack of a material, if it is indeed a secret kiss-off breakup album the target here seems pretty boring- it's best when it's a more rounded and wide-screen view about having to deal with getting older but still being too young to fully figure things out. In the end, make of that as you will that she convincingly wears mordancy better than sincerity at this point in her career.

Again I think that's probably why I feel I don't get a whole lot out of this music since it's a time of your life that's been long gone personally, but just as a I remarked last time of being old enough to be her father, the fact that this mixes so many of the styles that were popular during my own dumdum teenage days (sugary mall punk, new wave revival and flighty pop-piano heartbreak ballads), that used to be the go-to punching bags of the tastemakers of the day... are now being held up as genius. Huh. Strange times. Solid album. (Edited)

I didn't realize how many Olivia Rodrigo songs I liked until I listened through this. I've always loved pop rock vocals, so I'm not sure why it's such a surprise! (Edited)

Album Rating: 61.67
(740/12)

08.09.2023

Olivia Rodrigo (USA): Guts

1.All-American Bitch. 51
2.Bad Idea Right? 42
3.Vampire. 68
4.Lacy. 48
5.Ballad Of A Homeschooled Girl. 39
6.Making The Bed. 71
7.Logical. 70
8.Get Him Back! 68
9.Love Is Embarrassing. 70
10.The Grudge. 84
11.Pretty Isn't Pretty. 65
12.Teenage Dream. 64 (Edited)