Sour＜Crystal Vellum Vinyl/限定盤＞

Olivia Rodrigo became the brightest new pop star of 2021 with Drivers License, the single that broke streaming records and kicked off a string of number one hits. Its easy to hear why the song was so popular: As she sang about the plans that fall apart in the wake of a breakup and the sheer magnitude of her very first heartbreak, the rawness in Rodrigos voice and lyrics spoke to those her own age and provided some potent flashbacks for those a little -- or a lot -- older than her. On the rest of her debut album Sour, she delivers on the potential of that blockbuster single and then some. Rodrigo nails what its like to be 17, heartbroken, and frustrated, and updates the traditions of the sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued songwriters before her for Generation Z. Like her hero Taylor Swift, shes got a flair for details and a willingness to share every aspect of her heartache, even (or especially) the bitter side of it; on Happier, she sings to her ex, I hope youre happy/But dont be happier. Her ability to pair a sizeable amount of disdain with equally big hooks recalls Lorde on the slinky self-loathing of Jealousy, Jealousy, and there are even shades of Alanis Morissettes jagged, jilted younger woman in Deja Vus hyper-literate litany of tarnished memories. Rodrigo expands on Drivers License with similarly barbed and self-aware power ballads like Traitor, which captures the pain when an ex rebounds more quickly than expected, and with the folky introspection of Favorite Crime, where she reflects on how her desperation to hang onto a relationship made her culpable in her own pain. However, Sour might be even more vital when Rodrigo lashes out on the albums rock-tinged songs. She revels in her anger on Good 4 Us sneering verses and pogo-ing choruses, letting the drum rolls build up a head of steam that the riffs unleash, and begins the album with a surprisingly punky blast of angst on Brutal, where she tears down the idealization of teenage years (Im so sick of seventeen/Wheres my fuckin teenage dream?) over guitars that are the musical equivalent of an eyeroll. Moments like these lend another exciting dimension to her music, even if she takes a few steps beyond the rest of the albums fury on the tender closing track Hope Ur OK. Rodrigo wants to be taken seriously as a songwriter, and she should be -- her combination of sweet melodies and bitter moods, her conversational flow, and her self-awareness are all skills many songwriters twice her age would love to call their own, and they make Sour a well-rounded emotional journey and strong debut album. ~ Heather Phares

数々の記録破りで2021年を席巻している18歳のファースト・アルバム。芸能界チックなゴシップやSNSを舞台にしながら、雪だるま式に注目が膨らんでいった様子はまさに社会現象だが、そこに音楽の根本的な魅力がなければ現在のように世界を巻き込む共感を得てはいないだろう。憧れのテイラー・スウィフトやロードの系譜に連なるリリカルな傷心ソング"Drivers License"然り、繊細さと正直さをもって思春期を表現できる、普遍的なシンガー・ソングライターが彼女の本質なのだ。ポップ・パンクの"Good 4 U"や90年代オルタナ風な"Brutal"のざらつきもZ世代の激情を受け止めるだろうし、旧友に想いを馳せる"Hope Ur OK"で幕を下ろす頃には誰もが自身の〈あの頃〉を思い返すだろう。
bounce (C)池谷瑛子