Spontaneous

Week 36: Olivia Rodrigo- GUTS

~ honestopinions19 ~ Leave a comment

I fucking loved Olivia’s debut, “Sour”(Or is it “SOUR”?). She is different from your usual music star in the charts. She has plenty of fucking attitude and is unapologetic about it. Her debut was outstanding, and that punk spirit and it was definitely refreshing to see the singles chart shaken up by this angry lady. 

She certainly isn’t your usual Disney Kidz star. She doesn’t give a fuck what you think about her. She swears profusely, has a punk spirit, and loves to rock out. “GUTS”, the follow-up to “SOUR”, makes that album look tame. Olivia cranked the amps up to 10, and her attitude and opinions. Like every record, there is a lull and softer moments, but she does go tonto for most of the album. She isn’t here to please her label boss but to tell you her life with no holds barred. She doesn’t give a fuck about being commercially viable. This record is indie to how a label wants their musicians to be.

Olivia grew up listening to her parent’s music collection, which consisted of grunge and rock, and she has incorporated that into this album, but with subjects of dealing with fame, relationships, and other teenage angst topics. I fucking love the opener ‘All-American Bitch’. You hear an acoustic being plucked at the intro and verses before it fucking explodes in the chorus as well as her vocal volume and attitude. The electric guitars add to that effect. I also loved the solo.

‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’, which resembled ke$ha-like songs. You have softly spoken verses; occasional rapping with big choruses is another highlight. As mentioned, there are quieter, more reflective moments, but do not lack the angst featured on the full-in rock tracks. She even shows insecurity about her appearance on ‘Lacy’, an acoustic track, and confesses about being envious of what others see as “Perfection”. The soaring vocals bring that out. As gloomy as it is, ‘Making the Bed’ reminded me of that dream pop sound that we associate with Katy Perry in the late noughties and early tens. Like ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Vampires’ starts softly with a piano rather than an acoustic guitar before synths and guitars hit you by surprise.

I was slated for rating “SOUR”, but fuck you. This girl is so versatile in her writing. She writes full-on rock tracks to tender piano ballads, and the vocal delivery convinces you every song means everything to her. Her lyrics, at times, also add an element of sarcasm and comedy.

This record is like a person with schizophrenia. One minute, it is full-on, then tame, and then full-on again, repeating a spontaneous tempo. In musical terms, it’s like having iTunes, iMusic, Tidal, Spotify and Deezer on shuffle. You never know what’s coming. Despite that, every record should have heavy and reflective moments. It shows the songwriter’s versatility as well as showing they are human.

Besides the Reytons, the Lathums, Frank Turner, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Foo Fighters, the album chart lacks records that spark energy into your ears. Olivia has come along and made the album of the year that deserves to be nominated for the Mercury Prize next year. I wonder if this album will be number one next week. The album chart hasn’t had a mainstay this year yet, and the way music is these days, I don’t expect “GUTS” to break that but fuck me. It is a fantastic yet schizophrenic album. Olivia is a different breed to the new age pop star, which is a breath of fresh air. Another fucking monumental record. We need more musicians like this in the singles chart instead of nodding puppets for the label bosses.

Song recommendations: ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Making the Bed’, ‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’

9/10

Week 21: Paul Weller- Fat Pop (Volume 1)

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I have waited ages to listen to and review another Paul Weller album. I was delighted to have found out that he worked on it during the original lockdown. Paul told Charlatan’s Tim Burgess that he was bored and needed something to do. He also told Tim this might be his final album (let us hope not.). It’s great that some artists took the opportunity to be productive while isolated last year. Funnily enough, just as he started work on this one, his previous record, “on Sunset,” was not far from being released. The album begins with ‘Cosmic Fringes’ which sounds like electro-pop straight out of the 80s. You know, bands like Roxy Music, Heaven 17, or the Human League would have done. The end catches you by surprise because it stops without any warning. That sudden ending would last until the third track. From then on, the tracks would fade out.

‘Glad Times’ was like Paul went into a time machine and returned to the studio with the Style Council, and ‘Testify’ is a blues and gospel track with flutes. ‘Cobweb Connections’ is a sublime acoustic song, and ‘Moving Canvas’ is like hearing Paul playing songs from the “Stanley Road” era. I didn’t find much Jam-inspired music in there, though.

The album is just a mix of several genres; you never know which way Paul will take you with it, which will keep your ears entertained. It’s great when a record is made that way. You don’t want a predictable album; you want something that will surprise and differ from the track you just heard to keep your interest. The cover and the name certainly had me fooled. I was expecting an album full of cosmic pop or psychedelic. Even the title “Fat Pop (Volume 1)” screams that the record will be focused on those two genres. It’s more like a trip down memory lane with influences from the Style Council, the Paul Weller Movement, and everything after 1992. As I said earlier, I didn’t notice anything the Jam might have done. It also has Volume 1 at the end of the title. I would like to know what volume 2 will be like.

Now, as I said earlier, the album is spontaneous and will keep your ear, but at the same time, if you do not find that concept interesting, you might lose interest as it might start to annoy you. Personally, that’s on you because it didn’t annoy me in the slightest. I loved the way the record was spontaneous. If you enjoy dipping your fries into your Strawberry milkshake (Thanks, Siân. Watch this space on her. She might well be presenting a radio show soon, and trust me. Her taste in music is eclectic.), then you will enjoy how this album works. Many may argue that the tracks on “Fat Pop (Volume 1)” simply do not work without structure due to its spontaneous nature. Well…I liked it, and it’s entirely different from a Paul Weller LP.

Despite how the album is structured, either to your satisfaction or not, there is no denying that Paul still has that fire burning to be creative after a 44-year career. One minute, Paul is in the 60s playing with the Rolling Stones, and the next, he’s back in the Style Council with songs like ‘Glad Times’. That is how Paul approached every session with spontaneous songwriting. It certainly makes for an exciting experience when you listen all the way through for the first time. You cannot knock it because Paul Weller is far from finished with business despite what he told Tim. How many albums are there left in him creatively? Who fucking knows. Going by this, he still has plenty more on the way. The only thing stopping Paul is if he decides to retire of his own accord.

Song recommendations: ‘Glad Times’, ‘Cosmic Fringes’, ‘Testify’

8/10