Kind of simple and derivative, but Olivia Rodrigo proves herself on bringing her 2000s influence to a new era.
Pop in 2021 started with a big swerve when Olivia Rodrigo broke through the charts with ‘Driver’s License’, a pretty good post-break-up ballad, but it’s not something that really intrigued me much. But then her next few singles blew up my expectations, utilizing 2000s pop-rock sounds to her advantage with raw, teenage vocal singing with authentic relationship angst that made me kind of excited for her debut album, which was supposed to be an EP but got upgraded into an album after the massive success story of said lead single.
Giving this a few listens really made me think of something regarding Olivia Rodrigo, and the fact that she is taking the sounds and moods of the 2000s - 2010s and putting it out there for the Gen Z folks like me with genuine emotional core that might feel one-note, but does show a lot of nuances that some pop stars from the 2000s and 2010s would kill to have. And while this album falls short quite a bit given Olivia carrying a lot of influence on her sleeves, this album puts her foothold as one of the newer breakouts that does this sound well and provides relatable relationship emotionality for a lot of Gen Z folks out there, which is incredibly promising given that we’re going through another retro revivalism with is the 2000s sound.
Putting aside that, said emotionality goes towards the lyrics, specifically going through stages of post-breakup relationship turmoil, whether getting introspective with her own insecurities and guilt towards the breakup, and the snobby and messy angst that she works through, and starting to feel a bit more accepting and calming on the back half of the album. And yes, it does feel like this arc has been done countless times before, but Olivia writes it in a way that is quite nuanced, mature and paves a new way for other artists that will break out the way Olivia did, and I’m pretty stoked to hear that.
While I was put off by the structure of this album at first, it does make sense given the messy thoughts that she has to go through with that arc, and there’s enough variety in the sound to keep the half-hour album have some staying power even if she does carry a lot of influence towards Taylor Swift and Lorde. The pop-punk opening on ‘brutal’, the rapid drum breaks on ‘deja vu’, and the climactic pop-punk sound shows up on ‘good 4 u’, even if the former song feels kind of short and underdeveloped. There are also ballads that I do quite love, ‘drivers license’ grew on me with every listen with its simple melodies and solemn instrumentation, the country tinge on ‘favorite crime’, the sweet closer ‘hope ur ok’ even if she’s taking compositional notes from Lorde, the anthemic acoustic cut ‘traitor’, and the engaging rock sound of ‘jealousy, jealousy’. While tracks like ‘1 step forward, 3 steps back’, ‘enough for you’, ‘happier’ are solid enough lyrically, instrumentally and melodically they don’t really do that much for me. And again, the Lorde and Taylor Swift influence is carried in a genuine, although kind of derivative way at some spots.
But overall, this is a pretty good album nonetheless, with Olivia crafting punchy and emotionally relatable songs, carrying the influence of the 2000s and adding in the experiences of Gen Z folks that will relate and enjoy. Yes, it’s simple, kind of derivative, but it’s pretty well made nonetheless. Cannot wait for what Olivia has in store in her future outputs.
Favorite Tracks: good 4 u, drivers license, deja vu, hope ur ok, traitor, favorite crime
Least favorite track: enough for you