This past week, a shared icon for many teenage and young adult girls released her sophomore album entitled “GUTS”. After making such a huge debut with “SOUR” it was up in the air for many as to whether or not this album would create the same feelings, reactions, and ultimately rock the pop culture world as she had done before. After listening to the album through more than fifteen times now, I am dying to get out my review!
1. All American b*TCH
Musically and lyrically, I really enjoyed this song. The back and forth between light and airy melody to an intense new vibe is a super cool and fun way of presenting what the song is about. To me, a representation is is “Look at me I’m a perfect all American girl, which is obviously untrue and is actually just my way of calling out the unfair expectations set before me”. It definitely hits on the unfair expectations for women that are frequently presented in the media, history books, and the sometimes unfairly predetermined “American way”. A standard of perfection is all too familiar for women in America, and this song is an anthem dedicated to the frustrations of keeping up with it. It’s super fun to sing, and honestly my favorite off the album.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite lyric: “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed”
2. Bad idea right?
The transition from “All American B*tch” to this song is absolute GENIUS, and is honestly so satisfying to listen to. This song is super fun, and definitely resonates with those who have a tendency to find themselves back with their ex, despite knowing that it certainly isn’t the best idea. The buildup into the extremely catchy chorus, the fun bits of lyric that sound like conversation, and the invented innocence towards something that was definitely no accident definitely add so much to the songs quality. I like the rock element of the song, although sometimes it sounds a little busy to my easily overstimulated ears.
My personal rating: 8/10
My favorite lyric: “The biggest lie I ever said”
3. Vampire
After “driver’s license” appeared as a debut single “vampire” had some big shoes to fill, and I fully believe that it did a BEAUTIFUL job. This song is so beautifully composed, the lyrics are so raw and powerful, and I am quite literally still not tired of hearing it despite how frequently it is played on every pop radio station. The analogy that compares a toxic lover to that of a draining blood-sucking vampire is honestly so perfect. Don’t even get me started on the bridge! It is so scream your heart out, and I can say that me and my best friends have our own version of therapy screaming our own hearts out to this EVERY TIME we go on a drive. As the song picks up and gets more intense, it’s as though you can feel the pain and rage that comes with how destructive poor partners can be. I am literally obsessed with this song.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite lyric: “You can’t love anyone cause that would mean you had a heart”
4. Lacy
To be very honest, this song really just is not my vibe. As a big “listen to the album in order” girly, I feel as though the transition from “vampire” to this song it is just obvious that the two are not on the same level. I do, however, have a respect for it. It does sound very pretty, and the lyrical aspect is great, but for whatever reason I just don’t really enjoy listening to it. It is a disorienting and very familiar part of girlhood to have that one girl in your life that you love but are also entirely jealous of and feel very insecure around, which this song represents well. I guess overall, this song to me just does not fit the energy of the rest of the album, but that could very well be just a me thing.
My personal rating: 6/10
My favorite lyric: “I feel your compliments like bullets on skin”
5. Ballad of a homeschooled girl
This is a super fun song, and a fun way for Olivia to sing about something that is more circumstantially unique to her as a homeschooler, which is a really cool thing. It is always nice for me when I am sort of forced to step back as a listener and actively be urged to remember that musicians make music as an outlet for themselves, and not always to just relate to those hearing it. That gives me a different sort of appreciation for this song. It also fits as an ode to those who feel socially awkward, anxious, or different from everyone else, which is a commonplace in times like these. Once again, musically, I like the rock features she has been leaning into more, and the switch up between the presentation of her verses.
My personal rating: 8/10
My favorite line: “I’m on the outside of the greatest inside joke”
6. Making the bed
This song on the first FEW listens brought me to tears. It is such a difficult aspect of life to be struggling with the things going on within it; the people in it, the behaviors we hold, the habits we can’t break, the way we perceive ourselves, and so on. Also, to know that we are the ones “making the bed” or in other words, doing it to ourselves. So often, I find myself very upset with my situations while actively seeing to their continuation. Rather than prioritizing ourselves, we keep on making the same bed and laying in it. This song really just hits you in the feels and perfectly equates to the pain of what it is actively about. The instrumental supports the lyrics, the lyrics are beautifully written, and it gives a lot of “SOUR” vibes. I feel like this would be some sort of sister to “favorite crime”.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite line: “I got the things I wanted, its just not what I imagined”
7. Logical
Where my girls at with an awful ex boyfriend who always hit you with the “you’re just too emotional and I’m logical” and deduced your thoughts/feelings to mere emotion and self created delusion? This song is for us. In a very sad ballad sort of way, Olivia did an incredible job with this one. It reminds me a lot of some of her “SOUR” songs, and cuts just as deep as those do. I really love how clearly her voice can be heard on this song, since some of the other ones have a lower amount of clarity. Another tear jerker. The musical progression is beautiful, enough to make me wish I never quit playing the piano. I will personally always feel like she has such a strong suit for expressing heartbreak so accurately in a musically compelling way.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite line: “Two plus two equals five, and i’m the love of your life”
8. Get him back!
Alright, when I said other songs were fun on this album I 100% percent meant it, but when I say this song is fun I 110% mean it. Staying consistent with the switch ups of line delivery from singing to more like talking, the clever “wait is this the song with the drums?” intro, the background vocals, the clever and fun lyricism, and the presence of the guitar, this song was well constructed.
The bridge is so fun and is honestly so real… sometimes you just want to kiss someone’s face… with an uppercut. The only thing that I dislike about this song is how easy it is for me to imagine other songs when I’m listening to the production of it. For example, I can hear “Midnight Memories” by One Direction in some parts, and every time the beginning starts “I’m like omg did the album end?” and check to see if I am about to be serenaded by 1D. Overall though, such a bop that I don’t think about that detail very much. I can say though I am not a fan of the last ten seconds either.
My personal rating: 8.5/10
My favorite line: “but I am my father’s daughter, so maybe I could fix him” (so real)
9. Love is EMBARRASSING
One thing about me, is that on pretty much every album I listen to by anybody, there will always be a song where I am like “Ah yes, I would like to run on the treadmill to this song.” This was that song. It is so upbeat, catchy, and can easily be turned into a self imagined music video, starring yourself while you get ready (or run on the treadmill). To me the best part of this song is the bridge. You can feel the feminine rage that is unique to moments where we are feeling humiliated, embarrassed, and even defeated. One of those moments where it’s like “I am going to sing this to you with an huge uncanny smile on my face while my eye twitches and my voice is raised three octaves”. I LOVE it. So good.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite line: “I’m planning out my wedding with some guy i’m never marrying” (SO REAL.)
10. The grudge
This song makes my head hurt because I swear it sounds like another song, but cannot for the life of me think of what that song would be. Along with this, some of the instrumental bits sound like that of her debut “Drivers License” for sure. Aside from the re-use of instrumentation, once again Olivia cuts deep with her lyricism and the content of a heartbreak that is simply unforgivable and in the same manner unforgettable. I respect it. It makes me feel things. It’s beautiful.
My personal rating: 7/10
My favorite line: “Your flowers filled with vitriol”
11. Pretty isn’t pretty
This. Freaking. Song. SHE GETS IT!!! It is such a battle trying to fit into the societal standard of beauty and ultimately fall under the category of “pretty”. This entails all of the things mentioned within this song, the buying what people say to buy, wearing what people say to wear, doing what people say to do, all for it to feel as though it never even counts. My roommate told me she felt this song the most and I immediately wanted to bombard her with a hug and be like “YOU ARE SO PRETTY”. I wish that all girls, myself included, could feel pretty without feeling like they moved a societally constructed mountain to get there. If it weren’t for the upbeat instrumental, I would probably be a puddle of tears after every listen. If you are reading this you are so pretty, I love you.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite line: “Its in in my phone, its in my head, its in the boys I bring to bed”
12. Teenage dream
The closing song on the album holds a certain amount of responsibility of properly concluding the art that the artist just shared with you. I feel as though this song does an incredible job of that. Growing up is hard, getting past your teenage years is scary, which can translate perfectly to the end of the album. As the album is ending, it is as though Olivia is acknowledging the teenage self that she has had to leave behind and the overall new period in her life that has begun of adulthood, and ultimately figuring out if things will get better. Not only does this contribute to an overarching album theme of the trials of aging as a woman, but leaves the listener with a closing song that can just make you stop and reflect for a minute. By finishing the album with a confession of fears, a new era of pushing through them begins. I think the ending instrumental being very busy and then fading into a more gentle one with the sweetest recording of childhood in the background is an illustration of how although it may not feel as if it is the case, everything will actually be okay in the end. This is a really beautifully and very obviously intentionally composed song.
My personal rating: 10/10
My favorite line: “When will everyone have every reason to call all my bluffs?”
Concluding thoughts
Overall, I think it is safe to say that Olivia beat the so called “sophomore slump” that some artists hit. This album will definitely continue to be on repeat for the next few weeks while I painfully wait for Taylor Swifts “1989 Taylor’s Version” to come to life. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing public opinion on this album, and would love to hear what you think!
Please pray for me in presale for the GUTS tour.