I’ll start: God, this album is fun and good. “I know my age, and I act like it,” she sings on the opener, “all-american bitch.”
Produced by Dan Nigro, the album is a collection of 12 tracks that weave together the narrative of a young artist grappling with the complexities of fame, love, and self-identity.
She is now just twenty-years-old, and GUTS follows her debut SOUR, which won Best Pop Vocal Album of the Year at the 64th Grammy’s in 2022 and was nominated for Album of the Year. She also won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2022.
GUTS
So there is the psychology of the “difficult second album” worry. After winning so many awards with SOUR, could Rodrigo cope? There’s the expectation, the fear of self-destruct.
GUTS has been nominated for the same two categories two years later at the 66th Grammy’s in February 2024: Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year.
Well, let’s brush away those “difficult second album” worries!
The songs
“Bad idea right?“… listening to Rodrigo talk about her ex, with fun, layered vocals and humorous lyrics… “Seeing you tonight. It’s a bad idea, right? Seeing you tonight.
(Fuck it, it’s fine.)”
Her lead single, “vampire” starts: “I used to think I was smart. But you made me look so naïve… Bloodsucker, fame fucker. Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire.”
I won’t mention every song here, but I have to mention “get him back!“, which is a revenge psycho anthem that suits the albums tone. With a lyric like “So I write him all these letters, and I throw them in the thrash, ‘Cause I miss the way he kisses and the way he may me laugh,” devolving into “I wanna meet to his mom … Just to tell her son sucks.” Well, there is a sense of humor there. And I appreciate it!
The kind-of Curish-sounding “pretty isn’t pretty” is one of the best-sounding tracks on the album, with its late 80s new wave-style chords and lyrics: “And I bought all the clothes that they told me to buy. I chased some ideal my whole fucking life. And none of it matters, and none of it ends. You just feel like shit over and over again.“
It ends with the gorgeous piano piece, “teenage dream” which is a flipside to the first song’s confidence: “When will I stop being great for my age and just start being good?” ending with what I can only imagine will be iPhone light waving lyric anthem at some point in a stadium somewhere at some point in her career:
“Yeah, they all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don’t? They all say that it gets better, it gets better, the more you grow…. but what if I don’t?“
Rating
Each track in GUTS encapsulates a different aspect of Rodrigo’s journey, from dealing with fame and heartbreak to navigating personal insecurities and growth. This diversity makes GUTS a resonant and impactful album, showcasing Rodrigo’s evolution as an artist. It’s an album which in my view at least, outshines SOUR.
It’s so entertaining to listen to – I thoughouhly recommend it.
9.0/10
Chris Garrod, December 2, 2023