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From One Homeschooled Girl To Another, Olivia Rodrigo’s Got Some GUTS

Written by Faye, one of our literature and poetry writers, and edited by Amber, one of our editors!


As Olivia Rodrigo releases her Sophomore album titled GUTS, I think it’s appropriate to say that she spoke, screamed, and WROTE this album on behalf of every young adult who has ever experienced the gut-wrenching phenomenon, joy, and pain that is turning nineteen and twenty years old.


Now, I have no idea how to write a short album review.



And to that, I say yeah, Anton, you’re right! But am I going completely against that advice and write a 2000-word socio-philosophical tractate on how a particular record relates to Faye Allego’s opinions on pop music instead? absolutely.

Before you readers who have the attention span of someone who has 12+ hours of scroll time on TikTok, this essay review thing is exactly 2000 words long so it literally isn’t even that bad. Also, notice how I have to prove myself to you before you even read the rest of this piece?


God, to be a woman... brings me to my first point:


Female Artists and the pressure to have “Eras” throughout their career


It’s no surprise that through the rise of mainstream pop in the late 80s, women have had to constantly reinvent themselves after every album rollout. You see it in the iconic careers of Tina Turner, Madonna, and Cher during the 20th century. In the 21st, you see it in Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and of course, Taylor Swift.


These powerhouses of the industry have created a near-impossible standard of record-breaking performances, chart statistics, and how the media sees them.


We all know what happened to Swift in 2015-2016 when she disappeared and came back with her seventh studio album Reputation, coining the popular phrase “She’s in her reputation era” and when Beyoncé released Lemonade as her artistic mode of conveying her intricate thoughts and emotions on her experience with infidelity.


But do we always have to expect women to “reinvent themselves” from new artists like Olivia Rodrigo?

When the album art for GUTS was first announced, Olivia Rodrigo faced some backlash on X (formerly known as Twitter) for “recycling” the colour palette and overall aesthetic of her debut album, SOUR.


In a recent Rolling Stones Popcast episode titled “Who Is Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts’ About? Does It Matter?”, Jon Caramanica praises Olivia’s continuation of the purple colour scheme: “GUTS to me does a very good job of continuing the thing that Olivia Rodrigo did on the first album that was so striking…”


Rodrigo’s visual aesthetic remains the same for GUTS, but the themes differ. SOUR exemplifies teenage naivety and the first stages of heartbreak, whereas GUTS is a combination of essentially, spilling your guts, self-flagellation and the strength anger provides when you reach the aftertaste of a horrid breakup from any type of relationship whether it be friendships, relationships, someone you once looked up to, etc.


We live in an era where artists are able to market their creativity in such a way that the lyrics can mould into any situation, and in fandoms, this vagueness creates a plethora of theories and meta-content about artists’ personal lives, timelines of arising rumours, and hidden allusions to vague lyrics. It’s up to the listener to decide whether or not they want to engage in that or not. Personally, I think it’s fun! but it can get too far because these artists are real people. I feel like parasocial relationships play a detrimental role in the idea of “what could this easter egg mean?”


My Favourite Tracks

Track 1, all-American bitch

I love a Joan Didion reference! all-American bitch is a direct reference from “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”, which is an essay by Joan Didion that discusses the writer’s experiences in California during the 60s.


As an opener for this album, it’s easy to spot the influence of the Riot Grrrl Era which suits the theme of teenage angst growing into a young woman navigating the real world. Although the lyrics are very “soft-girl-core” with the church choir vocals in the bridge, it escalates to a scream-fest that sounds almost too perfect and clean. Olivia Rodrigo actually faced some backlash across social media outlets for her way of screaming, however, I think it was genius because it shows her repression of anger in a sarcastic manner. The blunt vocals accurately express the fact that even in distress, women are expected to be angry in a perfect all-American bitch way.


Track 4, lacy

Rodrigo’s songwriting is very diaristic, yet, she never reveals who her songs are actually about and to whom they are addressed. Which I think is a handy approach to songwriting as the listener can have their own interpretations of the lyrics and mould her words to fit the listener’s own experiences in life.


Growing up, I always had a lacy. I feel like every young adult has- as they break out of that childhood innocence- entered the world of comparison, insecurity, and the muffled formations of identity. In my teens, I would compare myself to my best friends down to the point of delusions like why don’t I have the same genetic make-up as her? or like the infamous scene in Gilmore Girls where Paris Geller says “Nothing in my life is fair,” after seeing Rory wake up looking perfect and flawless, unknowing of the fact that Rory had already gotten ready before she even woke up.




Lacy is accurate in its portrayal of how young women compare themselves with one another but the fight that comes out of it is always internal and one-sided. I love my best friend, but I yearn for the love I have for her. I want to love myself in the same way I am obsessed with the way she carries herself.


I think it’s also genius that Olivia’s tone and diction are up for interpretation about what love and jealousy mean in this song.


Track 5, ballad of a homeschooled girl

At first, I loved it, and then I hated it. The repetition of “suicide” kind of gets disheartening when it’s meant to be just a cutesy pop-bop that speaks to Gen Z instead of an affirmation of my prolonged existential dread! But then as I remember Rayne’s essay, I stare at my Spotify screen, and then I love the song again. It’s straight to the point, unlike the guys I’ve liked before. It’s also super fun, catchy, and has all the ingredients of a pop ballad, only that it isn’t even written in ballad form:



Track 8, get him back!

Similar to all-American bitch, this song embodies all elements to pop-rock. The play on words with the title “get him back!” can mean to seek revenge (I want sweet revenge) or reconciliation (I want him again), which is genius. I love it!


Get him back! is one of those songs where Olivia almost taps into not being so self-flagellating. I feel like this slowly foreshadows and sets her listeners up for her next album, which will hopefully uncover the notion of her realising that she’s literally Olivia Rodrigo; inevitably releasing songs that have a mood where it’s about self-confidence and owning it (in other words, her pre-frontal cortex is fully developed).


Aside from the lyrics, my favourite part of this track has probably got to be the marketing. The music video being filmed on the new iPhone 15 and released on the day of the 2023 VMAs is quite iconic.


Track 11, pretty isn’t pretty



Will we ever win the competition that is to exist as a woman in society? Will we ever meet the standard of beauty that seems to be running away further the closer we think we’re getting to it? Is it to be beautiful, to self-destruct? These are all questions I ask myself as I’m listening to this song, all while I’m dancing in my room with projector lights, of course. When Pretty literally isn’t Pretty enough, what do you do?


You can argue to stop paying attention to what others think about you and really try to learn how to love the way you look, but is that really possible for young women who have access to social media and see ingrained perfection 24/7 that opposes every ounce of self-improvement? When we have anti-ageing propaganda at all corners of our eyes every time I want to buy sunscreen for the beach, when there are age requirements to work at a french fry food chain, when Vogue’s beauty secrets are filled with products you can’t afford, am I- are we still pretty enough?



Honourable Mentions:

  • bad idea right? - THE ANTHEM OF HEDONISM (I think)!!!! AN AUDIOVISUAL MASTERPIECE ACCURATELY PORTRAYING THE “I support women’s rights, but more importantly, I support women’s wrongs” MOVEMENT.

  • vampire - Probably one of her strongest bridges. All I can think about is the iconic music video of this song directed by Petra Collins and the fact that it was released on the 13th anniversary of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.



  • making the bed - This is so burned-out former gifted child core… The way she took the most mundane act of making your bed into a metaphor for purposefully making yourself the catalyst for your dissatisfaction in life is simply, life-altering. I deserve financial compensation for being wrecked by this song, thank you.

  • logical -Now, this is probably a reach. but the build-up of logical vocally has so many similarities to Tamino’s hit song Habibi. the way she sings “no, love is never logical” hits the same pain as Tamino’s “you loved it then, so did i”

  • love is embarrassing - I desperately need this song to be in an opening scene for an A24 coming-of-age movie set in the '00s. Picture this: the main character walks to school miserable. Their backpack slung over just one shoulder. The second they reach their locker to prep for biology class, their best friend is standing right there as the locker door closes. It’s now the beginning of a friends-to-lovers plot BUT to avoid the predictable climax, someone dies. So, it turns into this whole Girl, Interrupted-esque plot. You know? I know you do.

  • the grudge - As Phoebe Bridgers once said: “Forgiveness is overrated!”

  • teenage dream - To me, this is a beautiful sequel to driver's license. She took “Where’s my fucking teenage dream” from the morgue and on her rosetta stone and resurrected it in the most melancholic self-loathing way possible. I highly suggest queuing this after driver's license if you’re mentally capable…


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This piece was written by one of our literature and poetry, Faye. Reach them at @leokenella on Instagram.


This piece was edited by one of our editors, Amber. Reach them at @spaldingamber on Instagram and @spaldingamber on Twitter.





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