I think it is time to spill my Guts about Oliva Rodrigo’s new album. After releasing her hit album, Sour, in May of 2021, Rodrigo released another in September of 2023 titled Guts. 

Sour was much more of a melancholy soft piano-inspired album aimed towards the sadness and agony of heartbreak. the emotions from that album are more raw like she wrote the songs as her therapy to get over her breakup. So,  I was expecting another album with the same kind of feel. The album surprised me as it brings out the jealous, angry, and revengeful emotions of a breakup. It seems like she is showing the evolution in her emotions, beyond the idea of her being sensitive.

With the use of more 90s grunge punk vibes, Rodrigo knows how to express her feelings in song. Not all songs are so angry and loud; there are about five songs that slow down and reflect on her relationship and her process of moving on. 

Her lyric choice is what I believe makes the songs so successful and unique. I was able to enjoy this album so much because her lyrics are so relatable to someone who has been through all the different emotions of heartbreak. 

Listening to songs on the album such as “bad idea, right?,” ballad of a homeschooled girl, get him back!, and all-american bitch, are what I would describe as the process of moving on. The angry tones and the self-reflection are what show the confidence post-heartbreak. The ideal feeling of wanting to hurt them the way they hurt you and show that you are better. It is a feeling that is hard to explain but Rodrigo is able to portray it to her listeners. 

Songs like lacy, logical, making the bed, and the grudge, are songs that are reflective of memories and softer than the rest. They are similar to Sour in the sense that they are very reflective of the narrator's love life. 

 The album gives a perfect view of the process of moving on, it shows the good times and the bad. This is why I enjoyed the album so much. It brought out the real emotions, the real anger, the real sadness. The first time I listened to logical, I was in the car with my sister who was the one to introduce me to Rodrigo’s music.  I was listening to the lyrics and I found myself just feeling upset. I was almost crying and I wasn’t even having a bad day! The power that the different songs have can really bring out emotions you didn’t even know you had. 

Rodrigo’s album is one I would recommend for anyone. Whether you are sad, dealing with a breakup, or just upset at the world; I think you would find yourself relating to the lyrics and being able to enjoy the softer songs as well as the more rock-based ones.