Olivia Rodrigo - SOUR

Release Date: May 21st, 2021
Genre: pop, rock, acoustic

I intentionally avoided any follow up singles to "Driver's License" because I wanted to hear the album as a whole. I still haven't watched High School Musical, nor have I watched any of her live performances. I knew she was a fan of Taylor Swift and Lorde, so my only expectation were to hear those "diary entries" turned into pop songs.

Review: I feel like it's important to factor in that she is literally a teenager. A lot of her lyrics revolve around a relationship that went sour. It's not the end of the world, but to a teenager's life, I get it.  It's your first time being that close to someone, sharing inside jokes, having a routine, then life happens and that person feels like a traitor, I get it. Lyrically, I like that her words feel sharp, but because I'm past this stage of my life, I also feel like that its over-dramatic, a little immature, and I have to wonder, is Olivia too emotional?

The album starts messy, reminds me of 90s alt-rock, simple chords, but she has a lot to say. I would say the lyrics are very good, and interesting to pick apart, very quotable, but the music itself feels dated. Songs like "traitor" "happier" and favorite crime" all sound like the same shade of bedroom pop. Since the album is only 35 minutes, I found myself repeating the album with ease and although these set of songs took the longer for me to enjoy, I still ended up enjoying them. I really do like that line "you didnt cheat, but you're still a traitor" and "I hope you're happy, but don't be happier," because both lines illustrate the contradiction people have when they break up. Like do you or do you not want your ex to move on?

I think it's very cool that she borrowed the melody of Taylor's "New Year's Day" for "1 step forward, 3 steps back." Then on "deja vu" and "favorite crime," clear inspirations from Taylor because of those urgent talk-sing moments, and "everything is all reused" feels like a nod to "cruel summer's" bridge.  I think my favorite song on the album goes to "enough for you." It has similar themes to the other songs, and I feel that her vocal display on this song is its most vulnerable and it just hits my gut.

Her single, "good 4 u" is fine, it has elements of Paramore to it, but I am also reminded of Disney channel era Demi Lovato, which is fine, it's fun I guess. Another rocky song is "jealousy, jealousy" which has a darker vibe to it, and I actually adore it, interesting song about social media. Lastly, "hope ur ok" appears to be about a friend she loses contact with, but hopes they are happy. It has those lorde vocals where she sounds angelic. I think it's a nice closer.

Tracklist/Scorecard:
1. brutal 7/10
2. traitor 8/10
3. drivers license 8/10
4. 1 step forward, 3 steps back 9/10
5. deja vu 10/10
6. good 4 u 6/10
7. enough for you 10/10
8. happier 7/10
9. jealousy, jealousy 9/10
10. favorite crime 8/10
11. hope ur ok 8/10

Summary: A nice compact 35 minutes of various styles of pop, sometimes I wonder if the tracklist is in the right order because some of the quiet songs after the rock songs after the quiet songs, can be jarring. But all of the songs are worth listening to, and all of the songs have quotable lyrics. Part of me struggles where to rate this because her love for Taylor Swift and Lorde are very noticeable in her songwriting, but I remember long ago, I didn't think taylor was very original either, but her way with words was so strong, I had to pay attention. Olivia has that way of capturing that teenage confusion.

Favorite Tracks: deja vu, enough for you, jealousy, jealousy
Rating: 8/10