![]() Its true nature surfaces with dark guitar riffs. The not so happy “Happier” camouflages itself with quintessentially pleasant doo-wop. Cheerful strings and bird chirps accent the record’s mournful and rage-filled odes. Its best characteristic is its irony, for providing intrigue and amusement. Some tracks change in mood or tempo, adding a little dimension. Varied effects, such as echoes and claps, create texture and ambience. There’s a sizable palette of live instruments. Neither end of the genre spectrum is warped or degraded to compliment the other. Rodrigo and her producers (Daniel Nigro, Alexander 23, and Jam City) do a lot of things right. This isn’t exclusive to the content it somewhat extends to the music too. Had the LP been longer, it might’ve started to be monotonous. Metaphors, imagery, and other illustrative literary or writing devices aren’t used much. Its lyrics are very literal, largely being without enigmatic or esoteric quality. Sour is a noticeably short 35 minutes, but this is to its benefit. “Hope Ur Ok” is the only number to separate from Sour’s narratives, being about old friends who she wishes is surviving and thriving in the face of bigotry. Perhaps this is commentary on the hold of manipulative mates, or the mental seesaw in the aftermath of a split. Rodrigo closing her saga with cuts like “Happier” and “Favorite Crime,” infer a regression in mindset. Folks will post like crazy about 'the love of their life' on social media as if they didn’t do that months ago with another person, but I majorly digress, haha. ![]() Sidebar: I enjoy songs that address the rebarbative human tendency to ‘copy and paste’ with relationships. She suggests they were just wooing tactics her former beau would take to any woman. “Favorite Crime).Įarlier on the album with “Deja Vu,” she diminishes facets of the dynamic that were supposedly special. To a degree, she canonizes the affair (ex. Despite acknowledging the mistreatment, she still hopes she achieved a level of fondness and favor in her ex’s eyes (ex. She sings of shape-shifting around the ever-changing moods and needs of her gaslighting lover, who never saw her as fit. Across “Enough for You” and “1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back,” she reckons with the unhealthy amount of self sacrifice and compromise she endured in her relationship. The latter sparks pleasant memories of Alanis Morisette’s ‘woman scorned’ anthem, “U Oughta Know,” haha. For instance, hits “Driver’s License” and “Good 4 U” communicate that abandonment triggers both sadness and fury. With co-writers Daniel Nigro, Annie Clark, and Casey Smith, Rodrigo notes how romantic loss often comes with conflicting feelings. She sings of how anxiety, insecurity, stifling expectations, and not being accepted have robbed her of what’s typically deemed 'the golden years.' This is a central theme on the album, second to inaugural heartbreak that’s exacerbated by infidelity suspicions. There’s no shame in Rodrigo’s angst game, as she comes out swinging with the guitar slamming “Brutal.” It’s not even a full three minutes, but it aptly summarizes the common plagues of adolescence (and the early 20’s, haha). Freshly 18, Disney affiliate Olivia Rodrigo joins this fold with her debut, Sour. The best and brightest capture the emotional climate of their station with trenchant poignancy, relatability, and endearing tenderness. Young singer-songwriters frequently express themselves in an intensely visceral way that seasoned artists are sometimes too calculated to still possess. Moreover, the idealism and sensitivity they tend to have is often perceived as a melodramatic liability. Ageist perspectives would swear that these kinds of acts don’t bring much to the table. Should the artists try to appear or sound more mature, they’ll be accused of being obnoxious, contrived, or inappropriate (this is especially true for girls and young women). One of the consistent hypocrisies of the music industry and its realm is regularly shelling out and fixating on adolescent talent, but then lambasting them for speaking from their point of view. Critics applied similar adjectives to Taylor Swift’s early work, who was also a minor when her career started. I remember reading a review dismissing Destiny’s Child’s The Writing’s on the Wall (1999) for being 'teenagerish.' The members of the group were around 18 at the time. ![]() Overall: Quintessential pop-rock that offers two inadvertent lessons about life stages and younger artists Favorites: Brutal, 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back, Deja Vu, Jealousy, Jealousy
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