Can puppy love really tear you in two? That’s the question Olivia Rodrigo aimed to answer with her first two albums, 2021’s SOUR and 2023’s GUTS. Chiefly, Rodrigo held a torch for anyone who got caught in the web of youthful attachment and infatuation. Now 23 years old, Olivia Rodrigo is still molding the clay of young love, but she’s got a bit more experience under her belt. Her new album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is Rodrigo’s chance to express her growth as a human, partner, and artist, while maintaining the creative exuberance of her initial output.
“I’ve been in relationships before that were really exciting and tumultuous in a teenage way, but this was my first time being in a real, ‘big girl’ relationship,” the notoriously-tight lipped Rodrigo told Dazed of the album’s inspiration.
As she has done for the past two albums, Rodrigo works closely here with producer/co-writer partner Dan Nigro (Chappell Roan, Sky Ferreira, Lorde), who focuses on an ’80s-centric sound. She also calls on songwriter extraordinaire Amy Allen (Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber), who co-wrote five songs on this album. With a wealth of experience surrounding her, Olivia Rodrigo has no problem continuing her domination of pop.
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If anything is clear from the lead singles of you seem pretty sad, it’s that Rodrigo is still invested in being a voice for the lovers and heartbroken alike. Released in April, “drop dead” is all exaggeration everything, as Rodrigo sings with reckless abandon about being absolutely, positively lovesick: “You’re looking like an angel on the walls of Versailles/ The most alive I’ve ever been/ But kiss me and I might drop dead.”
That song was followed by “the cure,” a downtempo, guitar strum-heavy track about realizing the love you thought was pure is actually a placebo, at best: “It don’t matter how your love feels anymore/ It will never be the cure.” It makes sense that Olivia Rodrigo would choose these songs as her first two singles, as they each function as Track One of an unofficial two-part album. you seem pretty sad itself operates as a free fall into love, which turns into a gut-wrenching plummet.
From “drop dead” through “purple,” Rodrigo dances a fanciful ballet, regaling listeners with tales about her man, her man, her man. The latest single, “stupid song,” is a hit by all expectations, an initially slow-moving, piano-laden bed that reaches a quirky breakdown before quickening, settling, and soaring. The song is a full adventure, reaching multiple climaxes as Rodrigo insists “nobody’s wanted somebody more.” Her lyrical sensibilities and vocal delivery makes this moment sing, through a familiar approach that manages to still feel fresh.
According to Rodrigo, “stupid song” is about rushing headlong into an unhealthy situation. “I was really inspired by this book Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux,” she told the New York Times’ Popcast. “She’s having this affair with this person and she’s not quite happy, she’s kind of going insane. Everything she does, she’s reminded of this person, the longing overcomes her. I was really inspired by all of the ways in which love makes you insane and miserable. I think that there’s a lot more to mine there than, ‘Yay, oh my God, he’s so hot, he loves me.’”
On you seem pretty sad, Rodrigo plays expressively with expanding her voice until it swells, before rapturously pulling back and leaving listeners on the edge of our seats. Her melodies rise and deflate throughout the album, and she very often scales up her choruses so they can build to a critical mass. This technique mirrors her emotional state on the album: experiencing big feelings, feeling so small and alone, and back again.
