SOUR / Olivia Rodrigo / May 21, 2021
- Joshua Yoo
- May 27, 2021
- 2 min read
To think at such an early age, and stage of her thus far brief musical career, that Olivia Rodrigo would already garner such a momentous cultural influence in the pop world is impressive to say the least. Capturing the woes and heartbreak of youthful love in her debut, she proves she’s far from a fluke or one-trick pony, appealing to her younger demographic with authenticity and fervor that not many other artists quite can.
From a pop record perspective, Rodrigo maintains her stylistic versatility as one of her greatest assets, both embracing and shedding her range of musical styles and influences seamlessly. Forlorn, sentimental ballads are the clear specialization and comfort zone, where she digs deep into that anguish of young love, but her pop-punk and alternative rock outfits find Rodrigo adapting her artistry compellingly, on full display with the hot-blooded and gritty opening tone-setter “brutal,” or the electric, shimmering, tongue-in-cheek anthem “deja vu”.
Through each and every track, her natural ability shines through and thoroughly sells the thematic content of her songwriting. Vocal performances range from delicate and heart-wrenching (“1 step forward, 3 steps back”) to powerful and bitter (“good 4 u”), but the fundamental strength and emotionality of her voice carry so much weight of the album, even in its more tedious and instrumentally stale moments.
The narrower topical focus and reliance on stylistic influences can be attributed to her youth and relative artistic inexperience, and the fact of the matter is this debut provides more than enough grounds for her rapid rise to prominence. An artist in the visible and audible process of maturing, Olivia Rodrigo has cemented her place of belonging and status of one to carefully watch her next creative direction.
Highlight(s): deja vu; favorite crime; good 4 u; 1 step forward, 3 steps back; brutal; drivers license
Lowlight(s): happier
SCORE: 7/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cii6ruuycQA
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