After releasing a record-breaking single, “driver’s license,” Olivia Rodrigo did not miss a beat with her debut album “Sour,” which came out on May 21.
Her two following singles, “deja vu” and “good 4 u,” created the same type of craze that “driver’s license” did. All three singles became extremely popular across social media platforms, in particular, Tiktok, which escalated the excitement for “Sour.”
Rodrigo’s artistry consists of mostly pop with an emphasis on instruments. She has even been said to be Gen Z’s Taylor Swift. Swift and Rodrigo are both within the realm of pop and they both write about their relationships. Notably, Rodrigo’s song, “1 step forward, 2 steps back,” samples Swift’s song, “New Years Day”. So it is abundantly clear that Taylor Swift had a massive influence on “Sour.”
The first track off of “Sour” is “brutal,” a song that captures a Gen Z outlook on life. It showcases the thought process that your adolescence is supposed to be the best time of your life, but when things aren’t happening the way you imagined, Rodrigo describes how hard that is.
The eighth song, “jealousy, jealousy” is similar to “brutal,” in a way that it is also describing a Gen Z perspective, but this time its focused on social media and its unrealistic standards. As a teen, I personally know social media is an easy trigger for body issues, so this song is extremely relatable to those who have struggled with their self-image.
The rest of the album is mostly songs about her relationships, with the majority of them being about break-ups. Rodrigo’s song “traitor,” is a slow song centered around the piano where she delves into what happened after her break-up and how her significant other ran to a girl he was friends with during their relationship.
“Happier” also uses the same slow melodic piano where she expresses a selfishness towards her ex who is in a new relationship, hoping he was happier with Rodrigo. The majority of her songs about relationships were slow songs based around the piano except for her three singles she released.
My favorite songs from “Sour” include “brutal” and “jealousy, jealousy,” as I find them extremely relatable. Some of my other favorite songs are “traitor” and “1 step forward, 2 steps back,” not necessarily because I find them relatable, but because lyrically I find them to be top tier off this album. I will say the majority of songs are slower, but the upbeat songs are just as enjoyable.
I would rate “Sour” a 7.5/10. I thoroughly enjoyed the album and found myself relating or simply just enjoying the lyrics. Though I will say, there may be people who find this album hard to relate to which is why I’m scoring it lower.