Olivia Rodrigo has proven once again that she has the most mighty pen game in all of pop. She is simply a master songwriter, with the most amazing ability to convey her raw emotions into a microphone.
This album is ostensibly a concept record, split into two parts. The first 6 songs are relatively new territory for Rodrigo, writing unabashedly about falling in love, and all the complicated excitement that the emotion brings. It’s a strong opening, full of catchy hooks, but when we get to the tracks “Purple” and “The Cure,” the album truly finds its footing. Those two songs begin delving into feelings of discomfort within the relationship, with cracks beginning to show in the burgeoning love. From then on out, the tracklisting goes into full-blown break-up mode, with a generational run of heartbreak anthems (including a legendary duet with The Cure’s Robert Smith, the sensational “What’s Wrong With Me?”).
Musically, Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro are on flying form, taking us through a host of styles, from the indie pop of “Drop Dead” to the folk balladry of “Begged,” even bringing us an LCD Soundsystem-esque, floor-filling indie-disco banger in penultimate track “Expectations.”
The sequencing on the album takes us on a deeply emotional, satisfying journey, flowing us through the ark of a relationship in beautiful form. If I had one critique, it would be that the first half (the “in love” section) isn’t quite as strong as the second half (the “this relationship is going to hell” section). However, because of that first burst of writing about young love, the second half becomes even more devastating, and so it’s an essential part of the flow of the record.
This is an exceptional piece of work from an artist I truly believe is one of this generation’s greatest.
