Messy Break-Ups and Undignified Emotions Sing in Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour”

On May 21, almost four and a half months after the overwhelmingly successful release of "drivers license", Olivia Rodrigo unveiled her first studio album, Sour. True to its name, Sour, which is synonymous to bitterness, represents everything spiteful and petty about break-ups.

But if it's truly as bitter and spiteful as the name suggests, why is this album strangely so cathartic?

Right off the bat, Sour steers clear from any sort of order in the way of song organisation. It starts off with grungy rock number, "brutal", in which Rodrigo wryly rattles off her abject frustrations with the world, and apparent difficulty with parallel parking, and quickly moves on to her trademark synth-pop style to quiet accusations of treachery in "traitor."

The entirety of Sour is structured like that; dance pops, smoothing out the emotional ballad, and biting words clearing out the abject heartbreaks. It ultimately helps Rodrigo's cause in making the album sound more like a jumble of thoughts, jotted on a paper than a well-organised verses one would expect from a break-up song veteran. Stevie Nicks, for example.

However, Olivia Rodrigo does not need Nicks' eloquence for her music to connect with her audience. Rodrigo, who was influenced by Taylor Swift to some extent, arms her emotional complexities and personal anecdotes and uses them in such an earnest way that is sure to catch people off guard. In a time where musicians go out of their way to avoid specification, it is refreshing to hear a teenage girl bluntly singing, "I hope you're happy, but don't be happier," in which, "without me" goes unsaid, but not unheard. Even her chaotic punk rock number, "good 4 u" encapsulates the same raw honesty within all that pent-up rage. It can be seen from the line: "Good for you, you're doin' great out there without me,'' she sings gritting her teeth, "like a damn sociopath."

Even though her entire album is themed around her failed romance, purposefully devoid of any tact or growth, Rodrigo uses her last track to sprinkle in some overdue maturity and perspective. On the 11th track, "hope ur ok", Rodrigo sings to the outcasts directly in an anthem of empowerment. It remains unclear whether this song was meant to close the album out in a more composed note, or simply, Rodrigo's way to bring her listeners some comfort without her trademark snark. However, weak attempts at empowerment or not, Sour ends just as spectacularly as it started.

What makes Sour such a good album is neither its lyrical ingenuity nor its solid production. It is Rodrigo's charming ability to embrace her messy feelings. Even when Olivia Rodrigo is drowning the listeners with her pettiest inner monologue, she is unapologetically herself in all her chaotic glory. So, if you have ever been heartbroken, or unjustifiably resentful of the people of your life, or just a firm believer that it is "brutal out here" in this crazy world, chances are you might find your next life anthem within Sour.

Raya Mehnaz likes to critically analyse anything regarding pop culture, and when she's not doing that, she likes to live life dangerously — one House MD episode at a time. Send help at: fb.com/raya.mehnaz