While Waiting For GUTS, Here’s My Opinion And Song Ranking On SOUR (From Livie To Livie)

I can’t love Olivia more…

Intro

Seventeen

Olivia Rodrigo was a Disney star since her appearance as a child at “Bizaardvark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”, and after all that success, she decided to pursuit a musical career on her own. SOUR was Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, published on May 21st, 2021. It included 11 songs, inside of which we could find 2019’s “Drivers License”, her pre-release single and Tik Tok hit “deja vu” and also the hard-hitting “good 4 u”.

My opinion on SOUR

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In my opinion, it is one of the most solid debut albums ever. She had a clear idea and the production from my point of view is perfect. It is pretty varied, and even if it can be defined as a pop album, it also explores the pop-rock, pop-punk and psychedelic pop music genres. Nice beats, good, hondest and deep lyricism and that combination of rocky and danceable tracks with lo-fi and heartbreaking ballads make it special and wonderful. And it’s not only me, but it has got a really good ranking and positive feedback from fans and critics.

My song ranking (from “least good” to “the best”)

Let’s get started! This is the HARDEST task, because, as I’ve said, it is a very solid album with very good songs, so it’s difficult to rank them from worst to best because they’re all great, so, let’s say I rank them from “least good” to “the best”. SOUR is so well arranged that it should be observed and analized like a unit more than just a bunch of songs. They are all linked and the album itself has a marked beginning and ending. We travel with Olivia through different emotions and lyrics, starting with an explosive punk song and ending with a beautiful and reassuring long-lasting fade out. At least, when it ends, it makes me feel better. What about you?

11. 1 step forward, 3 steps back

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She sings this songs with an impressive delicate tone that makes us connect with the tune. It talks about a relationship that doesn’t work because when it seems it is advancing it goes back again, “back and forth”, like she sings. The beginning and base of the song sounds inspired in “New Year’s Day”, by Taylor Swift, her musical reference and idol, from her album “Reputation”, 2017. I actually like the song a lot, but I think there are others better than this one.

10. Enough for you

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A nice guitar base that continues the whole song characterizes this track. It doesn’t include more instruments, it is pure and honest, just like the lyrics. An open-hearted song in which she says she has been adapting and changing just to feel she was enough for her partner, trying to be a completely different person to cause a good impression, as she was made to feel she was not enough. Some of us might feel identified. It is a very nice song, but I also think it’s one of the most forgettable, though. I like this song, but there are others better than this one, I think. And, don’t worry, Olivia, of course you are enough for us!

9. Favorite crime

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This song is literally melancholy. Those memories grouped together, those times you miss. You were really in love but that person just wanted to use you, but you were so in love that you would gladly make those mistakes again. And, let’s just say, who dares to compare her ex to a criminal? Olivia does! An angelically sung chorus and quickly-narrated verses that tell us a heartbreaking story. “Doe-eyed as you buried me”. Huh, that hurts.

8. Happier

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A sweet, delicate and selfish song. That slow-paced base is gorgeous, seems like a fairytale, and the way in which she sings it is beautiful. And when the violins appear to accompany the song after tthe second chorus it is simply amazing. “happier” talks from the perspective of the moment in which you see your ex has moved on and found a new partner, it hurts and you are happy for your ex, but there’s still a selfish feeling that makes you not to wish it sincerely.

7. Hope ur ok

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It is that song that makes us think about a friend, right? Most of us might also have that old school friend we’ve never heard about again. So, it’s the moment! She sings to a friend from an ultra religious family and also to the LGTBQ community. It contains a very beautiful message to that friend, saying she’s proud and hoping that friend is ok. And there was no better closing for the album. That long-lasting fade-out with the base of the song closes the album in the best way it could. And that’s SOUR, starts as a messy cataclism and finishes in a delicate and inspiring way, after having gone through hard-hitting rock songs and heartbreaking tunes.

6. Traitor

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Wow! This is an incredible heartbreaking song from heart to heart. Its deep lyrics make you feel it too and make you wanna cry. It talks about a partner who has traitioned her and she suspects that has cheated. It is sensible, slow-paced and delicate, perfectly represents the album, and what really breaks me is the verse “God, I wish that you had thought this through before I went and fell in love with you” in the same breath. It was hard to decide which song (traitor or brutal) occupied number 5, as they are so good and extremely different. This song really reached its purpose: it can reassure you if you are sad and it can make you cry if you are happy. Fantastic.

5. Brutal

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An explosive song that perfectly defines teen angst and trapped frustration, and the stunningly created videoclip makes it more memorable. That feeling of not suiting anywhere, of not filling people’s expectatives, of broken dreams and hard realities. When we don’t know who we are and we feel we are just pretending we are somebody we aren’t, when we feel people perceive us in a wrong way. Accompanied with a punky beat and base and an screamed chorus, this brief but contundent song is the perfect opening for the album. The first verse, a spoken line before the song starts, says: “I want it to be like, messy”. That’s exactly what brutal is. Chaotic but well structured. More than one feels identified, right?

4. Good 4 u

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Who hasn’t heard this song at least once? This song has something that just catches our attention. Is it that catchy chorus, that rocky beat, the emotion that Olivia pours over the song…? And, even if in the lyrics it seems that Olivia wants to move on, she’s far from that. She is frustrated and angry seeing how her ex has moved on so easily while she just can’t recover. And that confession: “I’ve lost my mind, I’ve spent the night crying on the floor of my bathroom” hits hard. All the electric guitars, the drums and the whole rocky vibe make us wanna scream to the lyrics of the song. It represents the moment in which we kinda say: “I don’t care what my ex does, f*ck them!”, but, in this case, “GOOD FOR YOU!”

3. Drivers license

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The original, the first. It was a chart-topper, the song that made her definitely famous. It contains all those strong teen emotions from a seventeen-year-old, about a broken relationship and that masochistic feeling of driving past the ex’s street. So delicate and whispered at the beginning until it reaches more emotion and a higher register. All of that to the only rythm of some smart piano chords and sync claps, and including real car sounds. It has the ability to make us connect with the song, and conquered the heart of many listeners since it was released. And, what about the end? That broken promise: “you said forever, now I drive alone past your street” breaks my heart.

2. Jealousy, jealousy

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The great underrated in SOUR. Raise your hand those who felt identified with this song! Well, even if its sad that we have to recognise ourselves in a song about jealousy, we can be proud of being identified on a masterpiece like this. With a sometimes discordant piano and a cleverly played bass, the song talks about the jealousy we feel when we compare to others, specially on social media, and all that anger and frustration of seeing we are not like them and they have got everything we don’t. With an explosive bridge saying “all I see os what I should be, happier, prettier, jealousy, jealousy” and a hidden critic to social media, I love how the whole song represents and illustrates the lyrics. This is a perfect combination and is definitely one of the best tracks on the album. It completely deserves its place.

1. Deja vu

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For me, the best song in the whole album. It combines a dreamy, delicate and light beginning resembling old music boxes with an explosive and strong ending. The tone of the song increases until it explodes at the final bridge, everything perfectly linked. It’s perfect. The perfectly played drums, the beat… and that’s not all! What about the after-chorus psychedelic pop-influenced part? It’s far from annoying, it adds a lot to the song and gives it personality. And, what about the “Cruel summer” inspired bridge? We can tell Taylor Swift’s influence and I love it. That bridge invites you to scream to it along with Olivia and the videoclip perfectly describes the lyrics. It talks about an ex that does exactly the same things with the new partner, a metaphore she uses comparing it to a deja vu. Yo can like it more or less, but, be honest, who hasn’t heard someone say “deja vu” and started singing the chorus?

FINALLY, MY RECOMMENDATION

Of course I recommend you to listen to SOUR! If you haven’t, WHAT ARE YOU WAITIN’ FOR??? And, if you have, I hope you agreed with me in some way. It’s a nice moment to listen to it, right? I’ll be playing it until GUTS comes out. I can’t wait!