OLIVIA RODRIGO: YOU SEEM PRETTY SAD FOR A GIRL SO IN LOVE

Olivia Rodrigo has finally dropped her highly anticipated third album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so love. The album plays out like the storybook of a relationship in two parts. Going in chronological order from the first date and honeymoon phase in part A - a girl so in love - all the way through to healing and moving on post-breakup in part B - you seem pretty sad. Sonically, it’s a departure from her previous two albums, leaning away from the early 2000s angst and more into the highly refined pop sound of the 2020s. 

The album’s opener and lead single, “drop dead,” opens quietly but hopefully with a few tinkling notes, telling the story of Rodrigo’s first date with her muse. To Rodrigo, her date “looks like an angel on the walls of Versailles” while they wait in the bathroom line. (Yeah, she's smitten alright.) While it maintains some of the guitar and rock-heavy elements from her earlier work, Rodrigo’s transition to true pop is evident from the first bars of “drop dead.”

“stupid song” is spreading like wildfire on social media and it makes sense. It’s downright catchy, with an energy that ebbs and flows throughout its 3:29 runtime and keeps you on your toes. Her desire is visceral; Rodrigo gets her feelings across with expert precision consistently in this track and throughout the album. 

On one hand, “honeybee” is the most romantic song on the album, and on another it’s the saddest. The backing vocals and plucky strings on the melody gives it an angelic quality that suspends reality, while foreshadowing lurks behind the intro “Baby boy, honeybee / God, I love the way you look at me.” In the end, we all know that this is just wishful thinking with the line “and I hope I never see what your face looks like going.” 

“maggots for brains” is the first indication that her adoration has maybe possibly gone a little too far. Over another catchy beat, Rodrigo agonizes that she can’t do anything but think of her boyfriend when he’s gone. 

I'm a zombie in my body

I'm a train off of the track

I feel dirty, I feel rotten, and the colors are all flat

I'm a sad shell of a woman and I've got maggots for brains

“u + me = <3” ends with the lines “forever and ever,” but it marks the end of the happiness in this story. The following track “my way,” is the first indication of trouble in paradise. When I said the album mostly lacks angst - here’s where the angst lives. It’s petty, and beneath her, (and Rodrigo acknowledges this) but she can’t help but feud with a romantic rival who went after her boyfriend. 

“purple” is where the tide begins to turn. The song starts out as romantic as any, with the lines: 

Made our paths intersect 'til the two lines formed a circle

And I melt with you, your red and my blue

Now I see the world in purple, purple

Super cute right? Wrong. Rodrigo flips the switch at the 11th hour, with the final lyrics, “Melt with you 'til it all turns black/Melt with you 'til it just feels sad.” 

The B side opens up with “the cure,” a standout on the album. Its format of a long crescendo to an all-out release of emotion is where Rodrigo has always shined, as far back as when she first released “drivers license” back in 2021. “the cure” is one her most vulnerable songs to date, as she lets listeners venture to the darkest corner of her mind. She lays bare on a worldwide stage the things most people might be too afraid to admit to a friend or even to themselves, and you have to commend her honesty. It is the point of no return for Rodrigo and her lover in this album; “It will never be enough.” 

“what’s wrong with me” is the only collaboration on the album, featuring the legendary Robert Smith, who Rodrigo sings about in “drop dead” - “You know all the words to ‘Just Like Heaven.’” Being in love is a very physical experience for Rodrigo in this album, with her emotions showing up as symptoms. She is grieving her relationship while she’s still in it, and can’t eat or sleep. Smith and Rodrigo are an unlikely pairing, but it’s a delicious track nonetheless. 

“less” is the final punch in the gut. A simple ballad, with soft backing piano over desperately pining falsettos as her lover finally leaves her. 

Then, as suddenly as it came on, it’s enough with the sadness. For fans of Rodrigo’s first two albums, “expectations” is the song for you. A high-energy pulsing anthemic ode to healing, and expecting at least the bare minimum from men going forward. No more men with fake jobs! (And if you related to that line, I’m so sorry you went through that diva.) After all that heaviness it’s light, it’s airy, and it’s just fun. 

“cigarette smoke” is a fitting conclusion with numerous lyrical callbacks: It’s better to be lonely than begging (“begged”) for you to stand up for me honeybee (“honeybee”) … I resent you for taking her side. (“my way”) The story being told ends with a proper conclusion, and it’s a satisfying bit that isn’t overdone here. 

Rodrigo pushed herself on this album and it shows. Each song is solid enough to stand alone, cohesive enough to keep the flow, and distinct enough to recall a lyric or melody even after only one listen. It’s not often that an album can offer that from the first playthrough. Lyrically, it’s more vulnerable than she’s ever been. It’s clear she’s matured, and has an older perspective from her previous two albums. It’s her most complete body of work, the pacing is stronger, and Rodrigo has established herself and her lane. She got what she always wanted: she’s no longer great for her age, she’s just good.