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After a long nearly three year wait, Olivia Rodrigo finally releases her third studio album. There was a lot different about this project compared to her previous: ditching the four-letter title gimmick and the color purple that is synonymous with her brand, instead going for a bright pink and sky blue look. The end result is you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, an ambitious, perfectly produced masterpiece of a record. This is a beautiful album that delves into the highs and lows of dating, and an album that’s goal is to tell a cohesive beginning to end story with its tracks.
Girl so in Love to Seeming Pretty Sad
The album is split into two distinct halves: the “girl so in love” side and the “you seem pretty sad” side. Rodrigo wrote a love song for GUTS (Spilled) called “so american,” an energetic love anthem to her then partner Louis Partridge. The album details the rise and fall of this relationship. “drop dead” opens the album on the wonderful feeling of yearning and fantasizing about someone you love. It is an amazing opening track. The song leaves you with so many warm feelings and a sense of joy and pure happiness. “stupid song” slows it down a touch but keeps the same idea of yearning, this time to a slightly more unhealthy degree. The next three songs detail the highs of the relationship and how doing anything with your partner makes life so much better. In “maggots for brains,” Rodrigo details how she can’t even live without him and “u + me = <3” is the dumb fun being with your partner is. But my favorite track in this section and in the whole record is by far “honeybee.” The slow, beautiful piano compliments Rodrigo’s vocal performance perfectly. The gentle lyrics are extremely powerful. The nickname “honeybee” is an extremely sweet name to title the track off of. Lines like, “God, I love the way you look at me,” and, “but even when I’m quiet, I love you, baby, I promise,” get me very emotional, especially as a chronic over-thinker. Olivia Rodrigo is one of the best writers in the music industry and her ballads have always been her best songs lyrically. “my way” is the most unique track off the album. The song details a girl who is trying to force herself into their relationship and create all this petty drama. The song is essentially an alternative take of Paramore’s “Misery Business.” Both are about “winning” their partner's love and the other girl lost out. It is by far the most different song on the record but it is fantastic.
Image courtesy of LastFM.
“purple” is where we see a slight shift in the album. If I had to criticize the album for anything, the first minute of the track is just okay. Not even bad, but just okay. But once the first chorus starts and the tempo picks up, the track comes to life. It is also a clever shift between the two halves: with red for love and blue for sadness making purple. While being a love song and having sweet lines about her partner, there's lines in there that show the cracks in the foundation. “And we fight over who I’m hanging out with,” and, “I had big dreams ‘til I tied myself to you,” reveal that the perfect relationship portrayed in the first half may not be all that perfect. The ending line of, “melt with you ‘til I just feel sad,” is a bleak way to transition to the “you seem pretty sad” section of the album.
“the cure” kicks off the second half. These first few tracks feature the rough, self-destructive, and dreadful parts of the relationship. “the cure” is about thinking love will solve all your issues when it sadly won’t. Asking yourself, “why can’t it ever be enough,” when the issues are not ones that can be fixed simply by dating. “begged” talks about the dissatisfaction and pain that a relationship can cause when one person is constantly begging the other person to be better and do the bare minimum. From the “you seem pretty sad” side, “begged” is my favorite as it is the most powerful to me. “what’s wrong with me” is the first time Olivia has featured another artist in her song, with Robert Smith of The Cure. Thankfully, unlike David Byrne’s cover of “drivers license," Robert Smith sounds really good and fits in naturally. I love the realization that she feels this bad about herself because of her partner. It’s simple, but it is effective. Rounding out the album, we have the post breakup songs. “less” is when the relationship is coming to an end. Despite being a weaker track, it is still a beautiful and heartbreaking song. “expectations” is one last fun energetic song before the album ends. She is free, she can go out and party, but this time she isn’t falling for anyone with slightly good looks. She has bigger expectations and values herself more now. But when the party is over, “cigarette smoke” is the vibe that fills the room. Beers in the fridge, a second car not in the driveway, and someone missing from bed. It is hard. It is lonely. But as Rodrigo puts it, “it’s better than begging for you to stand up for me.” The line that shook me the most is the direct callout of “honeybee.” It truly made this album a full story and a beautifully tragic one at that. And in the end, the memories go dark and the “honeybee” is nothing but a distant memory. It is tragic, but at the same time beautiful.
A Production to Fall in Love With
The songs and the lyrics on the album are fantastic. Olivia Rodrigo’s music truly grew with her as this is the first album she has produced where she sounds adult and not like a teenager. What helps this grow up in lyrics is a growth in instrumentals. While it is a little sad that Rodrigo moved away from the rock sound that made SOUR and especially GUTS instant classics, her new soft rock and bubblegum pop approach sound fantastic. Seeing Rodrigo branch out of her normal genres of rock and ballads was an idea that worked perfectly in her favor. Even when the album does go back to her roots, they sound more full than ever before. “honeybee” has an intense choir of singers backing her up towards the end. “stupid song” builds and builds until she lets loose on the bridge. “my way” and “expectations” have a super funky techno sound to it. Olivia Rodrigo’s producer Dan Nigro did an excellent job of making every track sound perfect while allowing each song to keep its own identity. It all sounds cohesive even when the album radically changes sound and tone.
You Seem Pretty Perfect
I can not praise you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love enough. The album will go down as a modern classic and as Olivia Rodrigo’s best album to date. Whereas SOUR showcases the raw emotion of a heartbroken teenage girl and GUTS showcase Rodrigo's ability to be fun and a killer rockstar, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love showcases Rodrigo’s best strengths: her storytelling and her musical skills. This album is one of the greatest works of art I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing and is an album you can and will fall in love with, whether or not you are seeming pretty sad going into it.
Graphic created by Ian Case with image courtesy of Spotify.
Contact Mason Mundy with comments at mason.mundy@bsu.edu or on Instagram @masonmundy1029.
