Hey again! So, I just recently started becoming a big fan of Olivia Rodrigo's music. I just saw her in concert a few days ago. So I decided to listen to more of her music in the past few weeks. I actually just listened to Sour well after my first listen to Guts, and let me tell you, I was shocked. With songs on Guts like "Bad Idea Right" and "Get Him Back" that, if you've seen my old blog, I used to think were terrible, I expected Sour to be a lot better. But after not only listening to Sour but also significantly growing into many of the Guts tracks, I found out I was wrong. You can tell that Olivia made a massive improvement in Guts, with its more versatile style and stronger songwriting. But that's not saying Sour is bad per se; in fact I still really like Sour. "But how do you, Hallett, of all people, enjoy an album of 11 slightly differently worded songs about the same breakup?" you may ask. So let's get into this album:
1. Brutal
My rating: 4/5 Good
Ok, this is gonna be a hard one to review, as it's a bit of a polarizing song. I couldn't tell if this was terrible, amazing, or just decent at first listen, but now I've decided it deserves the "good" rating. So, if you haven't heard the song, it's basically a self-deprecating temper tantrum set to a punk-rock beat and repetitive guitar riffs. The message is extremely straightforward: "All I did was try my best, this the kind of thanks I get?" So, this song is essentially just saying a bunch of bad things about herself with no apparent reason or justification for why she felt that way. Well, maybe that's the point. Maybe there's not supposed to be a reason, and it's just an honest song about the random scary thoughts that come with being a teenager. And in the chorus, there's actually a noticeable grammatical error - "unrelentlessly upset". I'm pretty sure she means either "unrelentingly" or "relentlessly", and call this a stretch, but maybe she intentionally put that in there to emphasize that she's feeling confused about life, or that she thinks she's "not smart" as she calls herself in the next verse. I also have always loved the outro, because it's very different from the rest of the song, and reminds me of Billie Eilish. One funny thing I noticed about this is that it's the first track, and it completely contradicts the message of the first track on Guts, "All American B***h". Was this intentional? Additionally, I'd like to point out that this is considered the fifth single from Sour, which I legitimately didn't know before a couple weeks ago, maybe because Hits 1 never picked it up. But then again I did think "All American B***h" would also be a single so whatever.
2. Traitor
My rating: 5/5 Great
So it seems like all the singles are in the first half of the album. And this is a great one. One thing I used to think was weird about Sour is that 8 out of the 11 songs on the album are about her breakup with Joshua Bassett. But that doesn't mean they're all just a repetitive and boring cycle of the same sadness with subtly different wording and unique production. They all explore very different aspects of the relationship, and this one is about the betrayal when Joshua started dating Sabrina two weeks after breaking up with Olivia. As it musically builds up, the intensity of the lyrics and vocals also evolve, stating that Joshua's bringing Sabrina around just to "show her off like she's a new trophy", and that there's no way he could have possibly been true if he moved on that quickly. So of course this is a fantastic song, and I'm glad it was a single.
3. Drivers License
My rating: 5/5 Great
Now, I won't say it's anything less than great because of this, but I will say I like this song a lot less after I found out Olivia didn't actually get her drivers license when she released this song. So basically all the driving-related metaphors are just some random gimmick and not based on true events. But it's still a great introduction to Olivia's solo music career. This is another breakup song, but this one explores themes of loneliness and depression after the breakup. I know everyone says this, but the bridge is my favorite part of the song. The production reaches a climax, and the lyrics there mention that she still misses him after all of that, and sees him everywhere. Not the best on the album, but still great.
4. 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back
My rating: 5/5 Great
I've always considered this to be a really bizarre song. But I love bizarre songs, if it's in the right way. First of all, it interpolates "New Year's Day" by Taylor Swift, which I'm not sure how she was allowed to do after all the times she's been accused of plagiarizing Taylor's music. The title might even be a reference to the number "13", Taylor's favorite number. It's a slow ballad, and it has a bunch of strange-sounding transitions, but in an interesting and unique way. I like the lyrics a lot, as they slightly change the metaphor of "1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back", and while obviously the change could be a reference to the number 13, it could also mean that the relationship always gets pushed back further than it could ever move forward, if that makes any sense at all.
5. Deja Vu
My rating: 5/5 Great
This is another breakup song, and this time it's about how Joshua's doing all the same things with Sabrina that he did with Olivia, and that Sabrina has the idea that their relationship is special & unique. The lyrics are well-written as they explore all aspects of this "deja vu" concept, including not only doing the same things together, but the girl he's doing it with being similar to Olivia. The production is on point. It starts off with a dreamy sound to it, but halfway through it changes to a more punk-rock vibe, and obviously evolution is what Olivia does best. And it's in the key of A Major as an extra bonus.
6. Good 4 U
My rating: 5/5 Great
Alright, now this one, tied with one other song a little bit later, is my favorite on the album. This song has it all. Evolution with quiet verses and a banging chorus, powerful vocals, wonderful lyrics, key of F# minor... everything. I don't even need to explain further, which is a sign that this song is just perfect.
7. Enough for You
My rating: 5/5 Great
This is another great one. Although it's not quite my favorite, it takes on unique themes of wanting to be everything her boyfriend likes but never being enough. It's lyrically somewhat similar to "Pretty isn't Pretty", but less about how it affects herself, and more about how it affected her relationship with Joshua Bassett. It evolves nicely, and Olivia sounds fantastic here. Pretty short review for yet another amazing song from Olivia Rodrigo.
8. Happier
My rating: 5/5 Great
So apparently, Olivia got the idea for this song when she was filming High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and she lied that she had to go off the set, just so that she could record her idea for this song. And I'm glad she did, because a fantastic song came out of it. This is another song that perfectly utilizes musical evolution. And I love the line "I bet she gives you butterflies", because butterflies seem like a common theme for Olivia in general, and I like how it's incorporated throughout the album.
9. Jealousy Jealousy
My rating: 5/5 Great
Wow, I strongly relate to almost all of Olivia's songs, and this one is no exception. This is one of the three songs on the album that's not inherently about Joshua Bassett and/or Sabrina Carpenter, and I really connect with the lyrical themes here. It's about how she can't help but compare herself to the people who live so-called "perfect" lives even if she doesn't even know them, and her irrational longing to be someone she's not. I very much relate to that, and the production perfectly matches up to these fantastic lyrics. It has a 90s vibe to it, and it sounds really cool overall. Really my only complaint for this one is the post-chorus, which sounds almost exactly like the chorus of "ME!" by Taylor Swift. After so many times of being accused of copying Taylor, I'm shocked this one hasn't been talked about more. But that doesn't affect my enjoyment of this song too much, it's still great.
10. Favorite Crime
My rating: 5/5 Great
Remember earlier in my review when I said Good 4 U was tied with one other song on the album for my favorite song on here? Well, this is that song. The lyrics take the most unique approach to the breakup with Joshua Bassett, stating that she loved him so much that she started going along with him on all his "crimes", being his "willing accomplice". The chorus is very simple, but perfectly represents the message of the song: "The things I did just so I could call you mine, the things you did, I hope I was your favorite crime." It might sound like basic lyricism to some people, but it really works in a song like this. It also has evolution - that last chorus is just fantastic. Top it off with being in A Major, and it's a fantastic almost-finale to the album, tied with Good 4 U for my favorite on Sour.
11. Hope Ur Ok
My rating: 5/5 Great
While I still find Teenage Dream to be a better album closer than this one simply because I relate to it on such a personal level and it makes me feel emotions I hardly ever experience when listening to a song, this one is also a wonderful little song. It's possibly one of Olivia's most thematically unique songs, reminiscing about two childhood friends who struggled with hatred, mistreatment, and abusive family, and hoping they're okay if they're still out there. My favorite line is "address the letters to the holes in my butterfly wings", because it not only incorporates the themes of butterflies, but it's done so in a beautiful way. In fact, that might be my favorite line on the whole album, even though it's not my favorite song as a whole. Overall, fantastic song.
Conclusion
Overall album rating: 98% (Great Album)
While it's not quite as insanely unbelievably great as Guts, this album was a really good introduction to Olivia Rodrigo as a solo artist. I plan on reviewing Eternal Sunshine next, and maybe TTPD when it comes out.
Favorite songs: Good 4 U, Favorite Crime
"Least" favorite song: Brutal
That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!
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