Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love
2 min read
Few artists have captured the emotional chaos of growing up quite as effectively as Olivia Rodrigo. In the space of just a few years, she’s gone from Disney graduate to one of the defining pop voices around, turning heartbreak, insecurity, and self-discovery into songs that resonate far beyond their immediate audience. Following the enormous success of the very four-lettered SOUR and GUTS, Rodrigo returns to break tradition with the lengthy You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, released via Geffen Records – a title that immediately grabs attention — witty, cutting, and emotionally loaded in equal measure — suggesting an artist once again willing to examine the contradictions and modern relationships… so let’s find out if Olivia’s sadness is only for the subject of her tracks, and not the track quality itself!!
Kicking off with one of the earlier single releases, Drop Dead is ironically the most happy of the album – slow build up into a classic synth pop backing of spoken verse and catchy hooky chorus. Down a notch or two on the upbeat and perky scale for the Stupid Song which begins with piano’s but builds into a classic modern pop rock track, while Honeybee used full orchestra and goes full analogue to turn (more like crank) the happy notch down, though there is an element of hope and optimism to the track. Maggots for Brains gives me big Joy Division vibes with the lead guitar – thought the track is far more upbeat and poppy as it progresses, while the old school texting titled track U + Me = <3 continues the 1980’s British post-punk-lite sound, which evolves into a more 1990’s, Garbage-like track My Way… all of which are more than simply solid, listenable tracks.
Purple kicks of H2 of the album, feeling very Californian indie synth in it’s composition and fantastic harmonies, in what is a fantastic sounding track (probably my favourite), leading to The Cure which begins acoustic guitars and grows into a full on 90’s soft rock melody in another strong track. Begged returns to acoustic guitar in what has more than a hint of country-style ballad to it, with Robert Smith (of The Cure fame) appearing in What’s Wrong with Me, which you would be correct to assume has a hint of British post punk about it, though quite a bit more poppy that I anticipated, and following track Less has a slow, piano-only melancholy to it. Penultimate track Expectations is full 1980’s synth in its instrumentation and fantastic lyrics, and we wrap with the excellent Cigarette Smoke – excellently written lyrics, solemnly composed music (with a devastatingly beautiful bridge) and, honestly, the perfect finale to what is a very well composed and well thought out track list order.
If you were hoping that You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love would see Rodrigo run out of creative steam then you’re sure to be crestfallen – this is a third top album from the singer songwriter, crammed with a variety of quality tracks, which for me solidifies her place as a top artist, rather than an industry ‘product’. Third albums are often problematic for artists, but this could end up being Olivia Rodrigo’s magnum opus. She continues to grow with each record and is never afraid to take risks in ways she hasn’t before… And the risks she takes are continually turning out to be winners. Long may it continue!!!
