Olivia Rodrigo’s Album Is Sure to Make You Fall in Love
One thing that I have admired about Olivia Rodrigo ever since she began her musical journey was the fact that she was an honest lyricist who was not at all afraid to be raw and real. When she had announced her third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love and had explained the idea of a concept surrounding it I knew it would be like nothing we had heard from her yet. Following the success of her sophomore album GUTS, I was pleasantly surprised to see her growth artistically creating an ethereal collection of songs in a record that takes you through the puppy love, yearning, heartache and heartbreak in a 13 track run.
Upon my first listen I came to the conclusion that this was indeed Rodrigo’s most ambitious album sonically. With many early dreamy rock and alternative influences (hearing the record I heard many tracks that reminded me of bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure) but not straying too far from what she does best with songs like her classic ballads. It truly threw me for a loop hearing something that I was not familiar with from Rodrigo yet it seemed right and more mature at the perfect time for her. With the goal of taking you along throughout the course of a relationship she transports you into a story where she somehow knows all of your deepest desires, fears, wants, and needs. Yet, she’s not afraid to get raw and real in the process. She shows this in her songs like “maggots for brains” in which she entails being so enthralled with an individual that when they leave you can’t function and can barely feel like a person. This was the first track in the record where I truly sat back and thought ‘wow! this is a sound that does not feel like Olivia Rodrigo at all!’ however, this was not in a negative connotation as it truly worked for her giving more of a new wave alt-rock early 2000s sound. She drives home the feeling captured in missing someone this much with the lyrics providing strong imagery: “I’m a zombie in my body, I’m a train off of the track/I feel dirty I feel rotten and the colors are all flat” and “and sometimes at a low point I even wish for a tragedy/'cause I know he’d come over and take real good care of me”. Through the messy and ugly she made sure to also stay true to the stupidness and head over heels feeling of new love in songs such as “stupid song” which provides a building melody that dives into the scatterbrained emotional feeling that comes with falling for someone for the first time as you continue to get to know them and build a relationship and a rapport. This being her third single from the project feels perfect in the realm of the world she’s created as it truly is an embodiment of the longing and chaos she brings to the songs.
Throughout the discussions Rodrigo has had about the record in interviews she has explained beginning the album with the love songs and later when writing the sad songs she had gone back to the songs she had written and started to add little hints of doubt and melancholy as she believed that is truly what made all of the best love songs. I definitely saw this in the tracks in the first half more specifically “honeybee” which was a beautiful love letter to someone who you truly love so much you can’t begin to bear the thought of seeing them ever leave you. It almost felt like a lullaby with a soft piano and orchestral sound accompanied with a soft vocal line where you could feel the longing in every word especially when she would flip up into her head voice within her higher range. Along with this track the love section also seemed to be interrupted with the track “my way” which is a fun and punchy alternative new wave song in which Rodrigo explains the annoyance and anger surrounded with a girl who simply will not stay out of her and her lover’s relationship. This was the song that felt the most similar to her past works most notably her GUTS album. Even with the similarity however it still felt so new and fresh and is one of the notable upbeat and dance-able tracks from the record giving the energy of an Avril Lavigne-esque song.
One of my favorite details within the album was definitely the shift between the ‘so in love side’ and the ‘so sad’ sections. Although the inkling that something may be wrong and the creeps of doubt stayed consistent throughout the first half it really came to a head in “purple” which entails the feeling of being in a relationship with someone for a period of time knowing how close you are and how you mesh together but wondering if it’s too much with Rodrigo describing herself as ‘blue’ and her lover as ‘red’ almost as though her partner loved her so much but she feels the sadness and doubt creating purple. The soft and dreamy track ends with questioning the way she’s felt all this time: “melt with you till it all turns black/are we so in love? are we too attached?” with the track ultimately fading out.
Although the beginning of the album was extremely strong the second half of the record is what really shined for me. Here her lyricism and arrangements were otherworldly and just made sense. Throughout this section track after track I felt the heart wrenching pain of the hurt and emotional turmoil within a relationship that seems to be falling apart. It begins with “the cure” which explains Olívia's insecurity surrounding love and the doubts in her mind; ultimately coming to the realization that love won't fix your problems. This is where I really pulled the comparisons of some of the earlier rock influences as it gave similarity to "Disarm" by The Smashing Pumpkins. I truly think this is one of if not her strongest song on the record both lyrically and sonically. Building in the emotion through the guitar and drums continuing to get louder and messier as her vocal performance in which she belts out a well toned head and chest mix range. Followed by "begged" this is almost the come down from all of the doubts where she ultimately realizes that all of her struggles are confirmed. One of the things that I admire about this album is Rodrigo's ability to not place a blame on her lover but instead discusses the faults and struggles that she contributed as well: "you know I could never leave/so I'm patient you're learning, pretend it's not hurting". It gives a very real and mature lens into the relationship that makes it feel more cohesive and almost like a living piece of art.
To have released your third album and have your first collaboration is crazy however she does it with "what's wrong with me" with Robert Smith from The Cure. I've seen lots of discourse online regarding Robert Smith being a vocalist on the track however, 1 feel as though it just works so well with both of their voices. Ever since hearing their duet of "Friday I'm In Love" from Glastonbury all I could think of is how well their sound blended together with Rodrigo’s soft airy voice and Smith's iconic vocal fry. The song almost feels cathartic knowing that there's a younger more naive voice and an older more experienced voice showing that even through all the years of being loved and loving people that heartbreak truly never does become easier.
The last three songs truly threw me for an emotional journey I was not ready for, starting with "less" (which lyrically is probably my favorite from the sad section which tells a story about realizing the end of the relationship is inevitable). The piano accompaniment proves itself to be hauntingly beautiful as each note holds a sense of sorrow. The lyrics are so vulnerable perhaps the most I've heard from her: "you say you can't stand to watch me cry a minute more/so you do the noble thing and open up the door/if loving me means letting go and wishing me the best/well then I guess wish, I wish, I wish you loved me less". It feels as though she's sitting at the piano in her living room just letting the words pour out while recounting her experiences on a late night with the feeling being solidified as you can hear the piano pedal within the recording in the bridge; a genius detail from her long time producer Dan Nigro who constantly adds layers to the emotion with the smallest of details. The sadness and hurt didn’t last for long however, as I received musical whiplash from “expectations” another 80s new wave synth heavy song that talks about the aftermath of a relationship and raising your expectations when going out as to not end up in another tumultuous relationship with a childish man. It was the perfect fun track to break up the sadness and slower tracks within the second half of the record giving it more dimension.
“cigarette smoke” truly could have not been a more perfect closer. The conclusion to the story reminds you of all of the good and the bad of a relationship and although Rodrigo places some of the blame on her lover it truly shows what she was trying to achieve all along; that maybe two people don’t always work out however the time shared together is a beautiful and well deserved lesson learned. I did not expect the sound that she brought to the song and to see how she has improved vocally since SOUR is truly remarkable and it is entirely evident in this song in the bridge when she belts out her high notes with a mix of yearning and hurt. Throughout the album the explosive production of Dan Nigro proved once again that his production is that of legends. He knows exactly how to make a song fully fleshed out and interesting to the ear but also easy to listen to which is a skill that keeps putting his leagues above others.
Olivia had said her hope was that listeners would drive with their windows down while drinking a Baja Blast and listening to the album in full. As someone who’s favorite activity is taking late night drives with my friends it is very safe to say that this album will be in my rotation and it will be something that will stand true for years to come. I urge everyone to listen to You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Loveas it is an introspective piece of work that will force you to look at love in your life and parts of yourself that you may have never known were ever there.
