On September 8, pop star and actress Olivia Rodrigo released her second studio album, GUTS. In GUTS, Rodrigo continues themes of heartbreak and teen romance included in SOUR, her previous album, while adding an early 2000s rock sound to her songs. “Get him back,” “bad idea, right,” “pretty isn’t pretty,” and other tracks on this album all stray away from the melodramatic pop melodies of SOUR by heavily featuring electric guitar and drums.
Despite the pivot in musical genre, Rodrigo stays true to the classic imagery of SOUR through her album cover. GUTS features Rodrigo laying atop a purple background, which evokes the cover of SOUR through their similar backdrop colors. Although, in GUTS, the shade of purple is a few shades darker, possibly alluding to a new, more mature age of Rodrigo’s musical career while still maintaining aspects of her classic look and sound. Additionally, Rodrigo’s cover features the singer biting her nails, symbolizing the themes of self-sabotage that actively being in an unhealthy relationship causes. This is furthered in the song “bad idea right,” where Rodrigo states, “seeing you tonight/its a bad idea, right?/whatever it’s fine.” Despite her acknowledgment of her rashness, Rodrigo decides to act on her reckless and impulsive desires, which mirrors the depiction of her partaking in the self-destructive habit of biting her nails on the GUTS album cover.
Another way in which the artist details the damaging effects of harmful relationships is through her songwriting in “love is embarrassing,” and “vampire.” Within these songs, Rodrigo shares the complexities of adolescent relationships and the heartbreak and disgust that comes with discovering the true nature of a trusted romantic partner. In “vampire,” Rodrigo refers to her ex-relationship as a “bloodsucker, dream crusher” who was “bleeding [her] dry like a damn vampire.” Referencing her fame, Rodrigo conveys the heartbreaking emotions of being exploited by villainizing her previous boyfriend in an illustrative way.
Moreover, while Rodrigo does stray from her classic pop-music genre in GUTS, she still maintains aspects of her old style, through her album cover and song themes. Regardless of one’s opinion of pop-rock, GUTS is an engaging album that encapsulates the emotional rollercoaster of teen romance in 2023 through nuanced and emotional lyrics.
