Olivia Rodrigo - "you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love" (2026)

Olivia Rodrigo needs no introduction at this point, being one of the biggest pop stars of the 2020's so far. I jumped onboard the hype train with her previous record GUTS in 2023, which was an immense improvement on her already pretty decent debut. That record saw her build on the pop punk and piano pop sound with more mature and more intricate writing, alongside exploration of other genres like indie rock and new wave. I did and do still think GUTS is such a fun and cathartic pop record; and I really felt like it was the beginning of something special for Olivia. The anticipation for where she would go next would only grow for me and many others over the next few years, really bubbling over at her Glastonbury headline slot last year when she brought out The Cure's Robert Smith to duet a couple of their most lovestruck and euphoric tunes. (Olivia basically won the indie cred game there).

So it's no surprise that lead off single, drop dead, gives off massive The Cure vibes. The euphoric ecstasy of discovering new love described in the lyrics and soaring post-chorus synth line are so Just Like Heaven or High; but The Cure is not the only touchpoint that the song draws from. The rambly, talk-sung second verse evokes Wolf Alice's Don't Delete The Kisses, and Dan Nigro's glitzy 80's production recalls his work with Olivia's close friend Chappell Roan. I'll admit that the song took a little while to grow on me, as the dense, wordy chorus was not as immediately catchy as some of her previous singles; but as I sunk my teeth into it, the song is great pop song and a great opening track to set up the album and it's narrative. That narrative, as you could probably guess from the record's title, is not just the tale of falling in love and living happily ever after; but the breakdown and unravelling of the relationship as things start to fall apart. The sequencing of the album splits it into two halves: the opening 'girl so in love' and the second half titled 'you seem pretty sad'. This gives the record a really strong narrative and throughline that sets it a cut above Olivia's previous albums before a note has even been played.

What is really clever about yspsfagsil (that's an acronym and a half!) is that the cracks and eventual demise of this relationship is foreshadowed in the lovesongs of the opening half. drop dead features little hints of obsessive infatuation in the lyrics and the whole vibe of the song is so sickly sweet that it's a little uncanny. The following track, stupid song, follows a similar path. The song starts as a stripped back piano ballad, but just builds an builds the layers and intensity to a point that feels once again a little obsessive and a tad unhinged. Olivia's run-on vocal delivery and the immense dynamics of the song remind me of the best (and most melodramatic) Lorde tracks. It's only when we get to the following track, honeybee, that the album finally lets up for a little bit of a breather. The song is a slowburning, lovesick piano ballad. On a musical level it is probably the most straightup and least interestingly presented song on the album, but lyrically and vocally, Olivia's performance really commands your attention. The topic of feeling completely inseparable without your partner and couldn't even imagine how you'd cope without them around again foreshadows the future unravelling of the relationship when it is placed this early on within the album's narrative.

The melodrama eases up a little with the next two tracks, being a duo of pop-era Cure infused new wave and jangle pop tunes that on the surface, present themselves as a lot more fun and carefree than the manic intensity of the first few tracks. However peeling back the layers and reading into the lyrics further pushes the narrative and throughline of the record. maggots for brains, not only being so damn catchy (this kind of power pop / jangle pop song is like crack to me), also has really clever and detailed lyrics about feeling lost and directionless when your significant other is apart from you for whatever reason. Quite literally like having maggots for brains. u + me = <3 is the closest the album gets to pure, unadulterated romance; and probably the only track that can be taken out of the narrative and genuinely be spun as an entirely positive love song. It doesn't quite hit the pure, unbridled ecstasy of  Just Like Heaven or Friday I'm in Love, but Olivia gives it her best shot and gets pretty close in my opinion.

The last two tracks of the girl so in love half is where the lovesick narrative starts to turn and go sour (pun intended). my way is a sassy 2000's pop rock banger that reminds me of the likes of The Veronicas, The Cardigans, or even The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's a vicious and petty takedown of a partners ex, and highlights how despite how apparently in love Olivia is with this person and how she is claiming that they're a perfect match, she still feels threatened by someone from their past. The driving beat and roaring guitars give it a sense of vitality (and immaturity) that really sells the point she's at in this stage of the relationship. purple closes out the first half and really acts as the fulcrum that the narrative hinges on. The lyrics initially read as more infatuation with this person, but as the song progresses Olivia comes to the realisation that she is losing herself in her partner and they are becoming too intertwined and co-dependant. His red and her blue merging together to become purple as she puts it in the chorus. The muted, synth driven instrumental is equally mushy and undefined - and really highlights that this relationship is not exactly how Olivia has been telling herself it is on the record up to this point.

The you seem pretty sad side of the record opens up with a bang with the albums second single, the cure. Despite its name, its one of the lesser Cure sounding songs on the album. The track is more indebted to 90's alt rock, picking up queues from Foo Fighter and The Smashing Pumpkins. It is a patient and slowburning power-ballad that layers up the strings and the drama on what at the time of release was Olivia's longest song by a fair margin (and is only beaten by the closing track cigarette smoke). The song plays into the themes of feeling broken and unfixable, and that no matter how hard her partner tries, their love will never be enough. It really sets the tone for the raw and unguarded emotionality of the second half of the record.

The majority of the back end consists of subtler, more stripped back acoustic guitar and piano ballads, which historically I've felt have been the weaker moments on Olivia's past releases. However that is not the case here, as the lyricism on these tracks is stellar and leaves you feeling every gut punch with Olivia. begged tells the tale of Olivia becoming increasingly frustrated with her partners lack of attention and effort, and that the little that they are doing is poisoned by the fact that she's had to beg even for the bare minimum. less goes one step further, really going into excruciating detail about this relationships misgivings and that if loving her means letting her go, then she'd rather be loved by him less. It's such painful and somewhat bitter take on love and relationships which is often overlooked in pop music, where a breakup is magically goes from 'oh I'm so sad about losing this person' to 'well I'm better than them anyway' at the flip of a switch.

The track what's wrong with me sits in between those two songs, and is the point where all the Cure-isms come to a head with a feature from Robert Smith himself. The song itself isn't particularly Cure-y from a sonic standpoint, but the melancholic mood and general vibe of the song definitely is. The track perfectly captures the romantic apocalyptic-ism of tracks like Pictures of You and Letters to Elise. The song is so beautifully written and the two sound fantastic together. Olivia's youthful earnestness is perfectly balanced by Smith's world-weary voice, making the track transcend being a modern pop song into something more timeless.

The penultimate track expectations brings back some energy to the record, being this quirky, dance-y new-wave banger about going back out into the world after the breakup, trying to meet new people at parties etc. Olivia's snark has come back, taking potshots at the low effort guys with 'fake jobs' and living off their parents money. The crunchy synth lines and whacky backing vocals from pals Chappell Roan and Conan Grey make the track just so much fun and the perfect antidote to the sadness of the second half of the record. That optimism is short lived, however, as the closer cigarette smoke returns back to the breakup and that Olivia still has a long way to come; reflecting that these things aren't linier and some relationships will leave scars that last a long time. The track also has some lyrical call backs to previous moments on the album so really feels like it rounds the record off in a nice and cohesive (if pretty downright sad) way.

you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is a fantastically written and produced pop album. I'm enjoying it more and more with every listen. Yes it might be sonically walking well trodden ground with it's new wave and pop rock inspirations, the tight and intricate narrative of the album makes me really feel like it doesn't matter. Olivia is in a different league to her contemporaries that she's so often compared to, and after the way this record has turned out, she could do whatever she wants for her next release and probably pull it off.

Top Tracks: drop dead, stupid song, maggots for brains, u + me = <3, my way, purple, the cure, begged, what's wrong with me, less, expectations, cigarette smoke

9/10

Wet Leg - "moisturizer" (2025)

Wet Leg felt like a a breath of fresh air in late 2021 when they broke onto the scene with the silly and irreverent Chaise Long. UK indie rock was very much in one of its worshipping the post-punk classics phases and as great as some of those bands are, the scene as a whole was seriously lacking a sense of fun. Chaise Long and by extension the band's debut record had it in droves, which is why I was really quite surprised by the lead single for their follow-up. Titled catch these fists, it is everything that the first album stood out from: bog standard angular post-punk guitar lines, a repetitive chorus and standoff-ish, riot girl-lite lyrics about annoying men in nightclubs. It felt very run of the mill and unoriginal, and doesn't play into the bands appeal in the slightest. The second single, CPR, is an improvement on catch these fists. The lyrics about crushing on someone so hard that you need CPR is much more fun than 'men suck' and Rhian Teasdale puts on some fun vocal inflections throughout the track. However it still sticks with the more aggressive post-punk instrumentation which I just don't think fits the band's writing style and overall vibe.

Luckily, when diving into the album as a whole, some of the deeper cuts do retain the sense of silliness and whimsy that made the debut so great. The third single, davina mccall, is a dreamy lovesong with some goofy pop-culture references (the title and opening line is a reference to Davina McCall's catchphrase on Big Brother from 20 years ago now). jennifer's body is obviously a reference to the film and has a driving rhythm section that propulses the song forward. pokemon, similarly, is a slinky and groovy synth driven cut that has some really cute lovestruck lyrics about escape and running away with your love. The best of the bunch is by far mangetout, and is the only track that captures the pure catchiness and simplicity of the debut. The snarky hook of "get lost forever" and jokes about magic beans feels like a much more 'Wet Leg' approach to annoying advances from men than the kind of sour and bitter vibe of catch these fists.

There are also two songs on the back end that I find quite interesting, don't speak and the closer, u and me at home. They go for that woozey, shoegaze-y guitar tone that's reminiscent of my bloody valentine. Combining that with poppy hooks and vocals that are actually intelligible, it feels like an alternate universe where mbv were actually interested in making indie pop songs. I wouldn't say they're the best of the bunch on the record as they are definitely carried by their vibe rather than the tunes at the core of them - but they're certainly an interesting diversion.

Unfortunately the record really struggles with consistency. pillow talk is another heavy track for the band, and while it is more interesting than the singles; at less than 3 minutes it feels like a non-committal half step into hard rock that ends before it can progress into anything more than just heavy riffs and aggressive vocals. pond song and 11:21 are unremarkable, meandering, slower paced tracks that go nowhere and don't have memorable hooks.

I feel like moisturizer fits the cliche of 'difficult second album' pretty well. You can tell the band are trying to shake off the accusations of industry plants and being a gimmick band by deliberately avoiding making the same album again and trying on new sonic (and visual) pallets. However, I can't help but feel like a lot of the personality that made them unique has been lost in the transition. There's some good songs on here but it doesn't come together to form much of a whole.

Top Tracks: davina mccall, jenifer's body, mangetout, pokemon

6/10

Olivia Rodrigo - "GUTS" (2023)

Disney kid Olivia Rodrigo burst onto into pop stratosphere in 2021 with a string of smash hit singles from her debut record, SOUR. These singles incorporated a lot of early noughties pop rock and pop punk aesthetics which grabbed the attention of a lot of people, but for me what really caught me was the quality of the songwriting. In an era where the charts were full of viral barely 2-minute tiktok songs with half a verse and a one line chorus, Olivia was writing proper fully fledged songs with structure and a level of depth. Admittedly I didn't ever get around to listening to the full record, but Rodrigo was definitely on my radar as a pop artist worth paying attention to.

That casual interest turned into genuine anticipation with the release of this albums lead single, vampire. The song initially starts as a more mature parallel to her breakout song Drivers Licence. Both are slow piano ballads lamenting a shitty ex after a break up. vampire has a more 'classic' feel to it off the bat and Olivia's perspective is a bit less teenage melodrama and more emotionally raw, but both songs start off fairly similar. But as vampire progresses, it develops into a wildly different beast. The pace picks up with every verse-chorus cycle, the drum beat kicks in, and by the end of the song, it's more glam rock showstopper than piano pop ballad. That quality is present throughout the entire album, ideas aren't repeated twice, rather built upon and permutated to create some incredibly catchy and replayable songs. Second single, bad idea right? also demonstrates this with how the super catchy backing vocals on the chorus never stay the same each time it rolls around, starting off very clean and 'poppy' and becoming increasingly chopped up and processed throughout the song. The song is so damn fun, as Olivia sings about a one-night stand with a former flame that all her friends would say is a 'bad idea'. It also features a fuzzed out bluesy guitar solo outro, which is about the last thing I would expect from a big single from a major pop artist.

The whole first half of the record is exceptional, opening up with all-american bitch, a very Avril Lavigne-esque pop punk blowout about the pressure to be polite and permissible and 'not a bitch' that young women face growing up. The track is very dynamic, alternating between these quaint acoustic sections and brash in your face punky parts. Rodrigo outright screams towards the end, which again is such a brave choice that I just wouldn't expect from a record from a Disney backed pop act. It also has a brilliant transition into bad idea right?. lacy is an acoustic singer-songwriter tune that gives off more Lorde vibes and even as someone who is clearly not the target audience for the song, it really hits hard. the song personifies the beauty and personality standards imposed upon girls as the titular character of the song, Lacy (or that's at least how I take it). It's not about the systems that create these standards, but the weird obsession with the idea of a perfect person 'that must exist' that it creates in people. It's a really unique and multilayered take on the topic. 

My first thought when hearing ballad of a homeschooled girl was "This sounds like pixies", but considering the themes of the record, Olivia's general influences and the fact that she's brought them on tour with her, Kim Deal's following band Breeders is a better comparison. The bouncy baseline, the soft-loud dynamics, the misfit / outcast lyrics just scream late 80s / early 90s indie and alt rock. I did find it a little jarring initially as in interviews and across the rest of the record Olivia comes across so self assured and confident, but regardless the song is an absolute banger and so god-damn catchy. The first half closes out with making the bed, the first time the record really slows down. The song is a really well written piano slowburn about self sabotage. Its clever and mature, and I really like it.

The second half isn't quite as consistent, but there are some really high high-points on it. Logical is a song I feel kind of mixed on. The song has moments of some really great lyricism (the bridge is brutal - pardon the pun) and Olivia's performance is so raw and emotional, but it is also one of the more straightforward piano pop ballads on the record and does start to run its main hook of "love isn't logical" into the ground by the end of the song. Similarly, lyrically the grudge hits like a truck, but musically its probably the most forgettable song on the album. pretty isn't pretty didn't initially leave much of an impression on me, with a pretty run of the mill new wave instrumental and lyrics tackling women's beauty standards which I thought were covered much better by lacy earlier in the record. However, I'm such a sucker for that kind of style and Olivia's voice suits it so well it's grown on me a lot.

Nestled in between these songs is two really great power pop breakup tunes, the first being get him back!. Olivia details the childish desire to hurt back the person who hurt you in a really self aware and tounge-in-cheek way. The chanted chorus and deadpan delivery are a lot of fun. love is embarrassing is even catchier with its driving baseline and booming hook, "Cause now it don't mean a thing, God love's fucking embarrassing" Olivia wails at the top of her voice. The inflections she puts on during the back end of the song just make it for me, they're unrestrained and kind of batshit. The closer, teenage dream, is also really solid, and a great way to close up the records themes. The song is a slowburn piano ballad that blossoms into a rapturous finale, where Olivia unfurls her insecurities regarding growing older and the stress of expectations. "What if they got all the best parts of me?" she asks, which is something everyone growing up can relate to regardless of whether your a pop susperstar or not - the idea of 'what if life is already as good as it gets and its all downhill from here?". 

GUTS is a really adventurous and incredibly well written pop record. It doesn't pin itself in a box of following the trends and is better off for it. It's clever and witty, and has a lot of depth to it. I think Olivia is going to go on to do some really great things in the pop sphere and GUTS is definitely the first of them.

Top Tracks: all-american bitch, bad idea right?, vampire, lacy, ballad of a homeschooled girl, making the bed, get him back!, love is embarrassing, pretty isn't pretty, teenage dream

8/10