Sounds Like: A Fresh take on teenage heartbreak.

During the first half of the year, I could not stop hearing about this album. Now, there was a time when I would turn and run from anything that had mainstream appeal, but I realized how silly that is, especially when it comes to music. There is so much good stuff out there, why limit your exposure to any of it? So, one Sunday afternoon, I was settling down at my drawing table, and I put “Sour” on the old headphones, not sure what to expect.  

I was not prepared.

It was the most joy I had drawing in a longtime, fueled by this revelation of an album. “Sour” takes the bitterness of youth and turns it into the sweetest of lemonades. Not only are the hooks infectious, it’s one of the most potent rumination on heartache, and the pain of adolescence I’ve heard in a good long while.  Its pretty much a concept album. But what floored me, on songs like “Traitor” and “Déjà vu” was how this subject matter, well worn and exhaustively covered by the annals of pop music, sound so fresh.  “Yes, you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor”  — if you ever been on either end of break up, that line probably rings with a pang of truth. It’s these universals that Olivia Rodrigo sings with such a bruised heart that it feels like she’s really the first person to encounter such devastation. It pulls you back to those moments in your life, where your heart was bruised, where you needed that rousing chorus to just belt out. It’s a powerful album, made by an impressive talent.

Favorite Track:  Each one cuts deep, but “Good 4 You”  is an absolute Bop that I always start over once done.