Olivia Rodrigo: Sour REVIEW by Aaron B.

 


All set to ignore this until a blend of sound pundits across the Atlantic named her their mid-year pick, I am eternally content to remain humbled and hooked by Rodrigo’s crisp songwriting and the eminence grise who makes it all memorable. His name is Nigro. But she’s no figurehead - as a songbird, she flits from soft-hearted to damnably bitter with aplomb rivalling Eilish, down-to-the-bone depth on par with Khalid, only Rodrigo’s husky growl outplays them both. 

The slice-of-life details undercut the melancholy that would otherwise queer this as overblown, and they’re deployed with the kind of vocal sensitivity that makes one thing clear - this love thing, she’s really thought about how it works. See for yourself: “Got a broken ego, broken heart”, “Ain’t it funny how you ran to her the second we called it quits”, “Maybe I’m too emotional/But you’re apathy’s like a wound in salt”, “I wore makeup when we dated ‘cause I thought you’d like me more”. Envy’s fantastic. And then there’s the finisher. Like nothing I’ve ever heard.

Olivia Rodrigo; Sour, 4.5/5


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