Sour

[Rhainay]

18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo released the album Sour in 2021. The album is thirty-four minutes and forty six seconds. In my opinion, the songs are catchy and intricate. The songs on the album include “brutal, traitor, driver’s license, 1 step forward, 3 steps back, deja vu, good 4 u, enough for you, happier, jealousy, jealousy, favorite crime, and hope ur ok.” All of these songs have an artistic style, and I feel like they all have a part of the artist, as well. Also, I think the album has a good mixture of songs. The songs “driver’s license” and “deja vu” were released before the album was fully came out. When “driver’s license” was released, I don’t think it took people by surprise but, it made them interested in the artist as the album has songs that many people could relate to in various situations. It quickly ended up on the radio and was heard by a multitude of people. The other song, “deja vu” had a more uplifting sound, even though it was about a relationship that ended.

Moreover, I feel like almost all of the songs are about a singular person except for “brutal” and “jealousy, jealousy,” which, personally, sound like they are the amount the pressures of society. “Jealousy, jealousy” revolves around feeling like you have to be someone else and being jealous of how other people appear because of what society thinks. “Brutal” is somewhat similar, but it talks more about how civilization makes it hard to enjoy life when you try the best you can to do so. The album contains upbeat songs, songs on the dreary side, and songs that sound like rock and roll; however, each tune sounds nice to me. Additionally, I feel like this is one of the first albums where the was not a song that I did not think was pleasant. No matter the type of tune, they all sound unique and different. I do not believe I have a favorite song on the playlist, but the one that I listen to the most frequently is “traitor.” It is slightly a slow song and talks about a relationship where one of the partners is betrayed by the other and has a pretty melody and bridge in the music. Overall I would give this album a 4.5 out of 5 as it is an album I can listen to on replay.

[Karina]

I love Sour! I definitely agree with your description of the songs' meanings. I never realized how many of her songs mainly only focused on one person, that's a great observation. "Traitor" is also one of my favorites! It's such a pretty song, and I listen to it often.