Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS

[andrebra]

“traitor” is definitely my favorite. I originally thought the last have of the album is really weak compared to the front half, but after a couple more listens, I am SO wrong. Those last four-ish songs have some amazing lyrics and interesting productions, and I can tell they are gunna be the underrated out of the bunch. “favorite crime” and “hope ur ok” especially clicked for me upon further listens.

[kimberly]

this is a very good debut album. "brutal" and "hope ur ok" are great for opening and closing the project. "1 step" is so beautiful—got me nostalgic thinking about 2017.

the album is more sonically cohesive than I expected. I would love to see her embrace the riot grrrl/feminist punk vibes that come through on some tracks in the future.

[ificanthaveyou]

Traitor, happier, favorite crime and hope ur ok are instant favorites! A few of them made me cry

[schnetzka]

May 21, 2021 11:50:37 GMT -5 top40guy said:

"brutal" is a great lite Joan Jett throwback. Probably too "rock" to be a single though.

"traitor" should definitely be the next single. Another smash in waiting, IMHO. Vocally, it actually reminds me of Kacy Musgraves more than anyone else.

I actually thought the instrumental was reminiscent of "Space Cowboy" by Kacey.

[gbaby]

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this on a long drive today. I liked her lyrics and her melodies. Strong debut, imo!

[ificanthaveyou]

Is it going to be certified platinum first week with the streams from the first two singles alone?

[👑 Eloquent ™]

"Traitor" should be 4th? The 4th straight single in a row dealing with the bitterness of the same very publicized breakup? Lol -_-

[Ivy Leegue™]

Sittin' pretty at 83 on Metacritic with 13 reviews reported. Most of the major critics have been reported, so I don't expect the score to really change. Picked up the Target version of the CD today (thank God because people sticking their tongues out in pictures literally makes me sick, so I don't know if I could have bought the album with the original cover - also, the Target cover is iconic.) Excited to dive into this. Riot grrrl is not really my thing so songs in that vein will probably be my least favorite. Good 4 U is not a go-to for me (well, I love the verses, but not the chorus vocally or instrumentally), but I don't hate it, especially in the context of the album.

[ampersand]

The album is just okay. Lots of potential but even Taylor had more range than this on her debut. Her next album will probably be better once she finds a better muse. I’ll look out for that.

[Ty]

I gave this album a quick skim today. It honestly doesn't sound like a very major release. I also don't see a lot of songs with hit potential besides the pre-album releases. This girl has potential but I feel like as a debut album it's feels a bit rushed.

[suzcruz7]

This is such a great debut album. Non-single standouts are Brutal, Traitor, Favorite Crime, Jealously Jealousy, and Hope Ur Ok.  I can see where some of the criticisms are coming from but I just don't agree with most of them. My ears like the songs!

Hopefully like her influences Lorde and Taylor she can grow in sound with future releases. Very exciting though I'll have this on repeat for weeks.

[Ivy Leegue™]

Whoa, what a striking debut! Happy for Olivia because this was so strongly executed. I give it an A, especially knowing the talent on display and where she could go.

Love:
Happier (At this point, I am wondering how she keeps improving and improving as the album goes on. This is such a Grammy performance.)
Enough For You (WOW. WOW. WOWWWWW.)
Deja Vu (I thought this would be my favorite but Enough For You killed me, so. This is still top-tier, though.)
Driver's License (I actually forgot how good this song is. I'm glad I wasn't exposed to it that much until now because it's perfect.)
Traitor (milking this heartbreak narrative, sure, but this is one of the most immediate songs on the album, so I agree with it being an obvious single. She sounds PHENOMENAL.)
1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back
Good 4 U

Solid:
Hope Ur Ok
Favorite Crime
Jealousy, Jealousy (Fiona Apple vibes. I dig.)
Brutal

[ificanthaveyou]

Wow I’m loving this album and probably one of my fave debut albums ever. Literally not a song I would skip regularly (although jealousy, jealousy and brutal have a time and place). Hoping she continues to see success, she’s amazing! I sobbed during hope ur ok.

[Joe1240]

It is a nice debut album for a new artist and traitor is a highlight of the album and it is obvious it has influences from Lorde,billie eilish and Taylor Swift and it is alright for a debut album,I wouldn't put it along the best debuts for a artist but for 2021 music it is easy to listen to unlike Bebe Rexha's recent album.

[kimberly]

May 21, 2021 16:39:03 GMT -5 Ivy Leegue™ said:

Sittin' pretty at 83 on Metacritic with 13 reviews reported. Most of the major critics have been reported, so I don't expect the score to really change. 

went up to 84 with 2 more reviews added, putting this in an eight-way tie for #22 best album of the year so far. good enough to be included in their "top debut albums of 2021" list by the end of the year.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

[Hefty Hanna]

May 21, 2021 10:42:55 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

There's promise here but I'm probably not going to revisit this. I agree, it's very derivative, kind of like she's playing dress up in other people's clothes. But she's super young and it's clear she hasn't found her own musical identity yet. The fact that she manages some solid tunes is a good sign. Either way, she's latched onto a moment, this is going to be big.

This is exactly how I feel about her. I've mentioned this in the new single thread but I just think she needs a few years to figure it all out before the artistry is there. It sounds to me like she isn't fully sure of who she is as an artist. She is very talented, I have no doubt that she will figure it out.

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

wow

[kimberly]

I wouldn't be surprised if they adjusted their projection throughout the week, I feel like she's definitely doing >200k.

[Choco]

Very good album. Yes, you can feel the influences, but I thought it was very cohesive, a very easy listen and a lot of tracks I might revisit. "brutal" and "traitor" in particular, plus the singles obviously.

Well done Ms. Olivia.

[Exclusive]

This was nice on the first listen; I just wished there were some more up-tempos. My early favourites are:
traitors
drivers license
deja vu
good 4 u
happier
jealousy, jealousy

[kalmanta]

Of course my favorite song on the album „jealousy, jealousy“ is already dropping on Apple Music 😒

[forg]

Brutal and Happier are my favorites!

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

coming for TUN's record (307mil)?

[Eqbk]

Solid debut album. The criticisms regarding it being repetitive in subject matter and a bit of a drag are valid but those problems weren't as bad as the previews had led me to believe. Deciding to add Brutal and Good 4 U in the late stages of the album was a good choice. Those tracks along with Jealousy, Jealously were upbeat enough and spaced enough between the other tracks to keep the album from dragging too much. Not that the slower tracks were bad, but the more upbeat tracks definitely helped the listening experience.

As far as the next single, imo, it should be Jealousy, Jealously. It's one of the more upbeat tracks and offers a change of pace in terms of subject matter. It's different enough from the other singles she has released to perhaps grab the attention of people who aren't necessarily paying much attention to her now.

[ificanthaveyou]

May 24, 2021 1:03:58 GMT -5 Eqbk said:

Solid debut album. The criticisms regarding it being repetitive in subject matter and a bit of a drag are valid but those problems weren't as bad as the previews had led me to believe. Deciding to add Brutal and Good 4 U in the late stages of the album was a good choice. Those tracks along with Jealousy, Jealously were upbeat enough and spaced enough between the other tracks to keep the album from dragging too much. Not that the slower tracks were bad, but the more upbeat tracks definitely helped the listening experience.

As far as the next single, imo, it should be Jealousy, Jealously. It's one of the more upbeat tracks and offers a change of pace in terms of subject matter. It's different enough from the other singles she has released to perhaps grab the attention of people who aren't necessarily paying much attention to her now.

I almost hope they have a deluxe version planned to release in the Summer with an uptempo smash. She’s really smart and has studied Taylor’s promo strategies really well, so I’m hoping she follows suit.

I think happier or traitor would make great Fall songs as well.

[Fears in the Fire]

I like jealousy, jealousy the best

[Ivy Leegue™]

Slipped a spot to 83 on Metacritic, but with 19 reviews, that is really impressive, especially for a debut. Only one of the reviews was mixed and even THEY called it an incredibly impressive debut. I will continue to stan.

[top40guy]

Cute video

[Au$tin]

Finally got around to listening to this. It's a solid debut album, but I'm not infatuated with it like others (and critics) seem to be. I'm also torn on the criticism of her not having an identity. On one end of the spectrum, I definitely think she has a sound: soft rock/adult contemporary, easily. Nothing on the album strays from those two other than "brutal" and "good 4 u," both alt/pop, which isn't much of a departure from the rest of the album so it's not like they majorly stick out or anything. On the other hand, I do kind of get the criticism from an image perspective. Some tracks sound like Taylor Swift, some like Lorde, some like Hayley Williams, but none seem to shout "hey, this is Olivia Rodrigo." Personally, I'm not concerned about that. She's definitely cemented her sound well enough on this album that I definitely see her image fully forming rather quickly in the years to come. She's also only 16, so much like I wouldn't expect a 16-year-old to have their personality fully formed, I don't expect a 16-year-old musician to have their image to be fully cemented yet either. Not every 16-year-old musician can be a Lorde and have a well defined image knocked out of the park. She'll get there.

I also see some criticisms on her vocals being samey throughout the album. I don't think that's really a problem either. The problem is that the music itself is pretty samey. The small vocal range could be easily forgivable if the songs didn't blend together at spots and become hard to distinguish. But, again, I definitely see that being something she can easily work on in the future. A safe debut is perfectly acceptable at this time. Leave the heavy experimenting for the second or third album. I mean, there are already signs that she may want to venture into pop/punk with "good 4 u" and "brutal" just all around existing.

Honestly, I saved more tracks from this album than I expected to. The ones I didn't save:
1 step forward, 3 steps back - Dull. I was never big on Taylor's "New Year's Day" much to begin with, but Olivia made it that much more boring.
deja vu - The melody has grown on me, but I still can't get past her weird vocals in the chorus.
enough for you & hope ur ok - Honestly, it's been a day since I listened to this album and I've already forgotten how these sound. That's probably not good.

But the rest I saved. "good 4 u" is easily the best song on the album, but of the new tracks, "brutal" is a huge standout along with "jealousy, jealousy." "favorite crime" sounds like it's going to be a huge grower as well. "traitor" and "happier" are cute Lorde/Taylor-esque songs that make for solid album tracks. And somehow "drivers license" continues to slowly grow on me. So I'm here for this album in general, here for Olivia, and am rooting for her continued to success and growth as an artist. I find her rather intriguing and promising in the talent aspect, especially songwriting wise. I'm hoping she goes down a more alt route, following the sound of "brutal" and "good 4 u," but maybe add in a bit more Alanis influence or something to help separate her from Paramore/Hayley Williams and grow her image more.