Olivia Rodrigo — You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love

Jun 11

Following two singles, “Drop Dead” and “The Cure”, each exemplifying a different side of the project’s narrative, Rodrigo has released her long-awaited third studio album, You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love. Aside from its visual aesthetics, the album is also a step in a pretty different direction musically from its predecessors, SOUR and GUTS – though it maintains Rodrigo’s connections to rock music, it dips largely into a synthy 70s and 80s-inspired sound quite distinct from the music she had made before.

This musical vision is brought to life and given a fantastic amount of texture and color by the consistently top-level production and instrumental arrangements from the ever-present Dan Nigro. His work on this album feels a deal more complex than his previous collaborations with Olivia, with more intricate layering than ever. The mixes are typically crisp and well-balanced; each part is distinct and palpably present in a way that makes the album an absolutely enthralling listening experience. Particular highlights production-wise are the placement of the harmonies and backing vocals (specifically on tracks like “Honeybee” or “Begged”), and the hauntingly gorgeous and at times captivatingly cinematic string arrangements, with standouts on “The Cure” and “Cigarette Smoke” among others.

Something that is instantly evident throughout this project is the influence from The Cure. The legendary band is present in everything from the soundscape of certain songs (for example, “Maggots For Brains” or “U+Me=<3”) to the mention of their iconic hit “Just Like Heaven” on “Drop Dead” to, of course, the presence of the band’s frontman Robert Smith on “What’s Wrong With Me?”, the first ever non-solo Olivia Rodrigo track. Smith’s signature eerie vocals mix very well with Rodrigo’s on the chorus, and his verse also fits into the track perfectly. However, even despite the clear inspirations from The Cure and other bands of the era, the record still does manage to feel authentic and unique to Olivia Rodrigo.

This is largely thanks to her strong vocal presence and personality, and, of course, her songwriting. Topically, this album retreats back into something more similar to SOUR, staying within the themes of love and heartbreak; it is unfortunate not to get any tracks on more socially charged topics, such as career-highlight cuts like “All-American Bitch” or “Pretty Isn’t Pretty” from GUTS; however, the presentation and execution of the subjects we do get is still excellent. There are some standout lines throughout the project, such as “They say that honest love is a cage that makes you feel free” (“Stupid Song”), “Melt with you 'til it all turns black” (“Purple”) or “Nothing’s quite enough when I know that to get it I begged” (“Begged”); and the lyricism gets particularly cutting on the second half, giving tracks like “Less” a genuine, deep, creeping sadness that resonates profoundly on an emotional level.

Structurally, You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love is a very well-narrated story of a buildup and decline of a relationship. Olivia Rodrigo’s writing and the minor details in it from track to track allow the listener to really engage with her gradually changing emotional state as the album progresses. “Drop Dead” is the perfect opener, with its all-out optimistic tone and sweet production; the first few tracks after it follow in its footsteps, but things slowly start to go downhill the further it goes. There are also a couple of tracks that feel like they play the role of intermissions of sorts, making the album more dynamic and giving the listener a breather in particular moments; this applies to the attitude-heavy, late 2000s-sounding “My Way”, which is extremely different sonically for Olivia Rodrigo, coming in right before “Purple”, a writing highlight of the project, begins the tonal shift from the “girl so in love” part of the record into the “you seem pretty sad” part, and to the free-spirited, upbeat “Expectations”, whose placement near the end creates a necessary bridge between the extremely emotionally weighted tracks either side of it. Finally, the brief fadeout at the very end of the brilliant closer, “Cigarette Smoke”, brings the project to its soft, but deadly conclusion, as the central relationship of the album slips away into the dark.

You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love is a great album. It feels like a natural evolution of Olivia Rodrigo’s career, and like an implementation of many of her most interesting and mature musical ideas to date. At this stage of her career, she continues to be one of the standout songwriters of the modern pop landscape, with a unique artistic vision that makes her one of the very best among her contemporaries.

8.6/10

MUSIC