"you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love": Olivia Rodrigo album review

Olivia Rodrigo’s third album and latest release, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, is innately confusing. Olivia teased the record in a TikTok insinuating that she’d “scrapped her whole album” following a breakup, hence side A, “girl so in love” and side B, “you seem pretty sad”. I rate you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love an 8.5/10.

The album cover for you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love

My favorite thing, when listening to an album, is the story it tells. In my experience, “whiplash” is a pretty accurate way of describing heartbreak, thus I love this record. It’s gutting and has a little bit of everything. Those little bits are where complexity comes in.

This album covers each genre better than Olivia’s previous records. Most vividly, the throwback rock sound. Having Robert Smith of The Cure on “What’s Wrong with Me” provides a safety net for all the other rock songs. The lyrics are stunning – one of Olivia’s greatest strengths, “Went to the doctor and she said I was fine, but… I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I think you’re what’s wrong with me”. While the production is true to the energy of The Cure, the song could benefit from a modern edge with stronger synths. Think “Somebody Else” by the 1975. “u + me = <3” is destined for a 90s/2000s movie driving down the PCH in a convertible with the top down. However, the intro almost sounds like a Garageband “Rock Guitar” sample. While “My Way”, a message to a girl flirting with Olivia’s boyfriend, is a little corny, corniness seems to be the intention. Thus, it works. “Expectations” is a banger with a good message for Olivia’s younger audience: think carefully about who you give your heart to.

“The Cure” and “Maggots for Brains” are more pop-rock. I’m not a massive fan of “The Cure” – it’s a great song but panics me. “Maggots for Brains” has the ultimate crying-in-the-club energy despite a more generic sound.

The album was first preluded with pure pop: “Drop Dead”. The song was a promising foreword to Olivia’s first album in three years. It was initially my favorite lead of Olivia’s, but in only two months, it feels old. Nonetheless, the snappy second verse and ascending melody are fabulous. “Stupid Song”, the third single, similarly starts slower before the melody ascends, but the insecure-New-York-party-night imagery is far from than that of the “walls of Versailles”. “Purple”, a more relaxed synth-rooted song equating a person with home, closes the upbeat pop section. However, it feels like it was written just so Olivia could have a song called “Purple”, an ode to the color scheme of her first two records.

The first ballad, “Honeybee”, is a reassuring love song that feels like a Christmas carol. “Begged” is my favorite. Olivia does background vocals so satisfyingly (see “Lacy”, from GUTS). I adore the lyrics of “Less” but not so much the sound. I don’t love how piano sounds with the part of Olivia’s voice that she most leans into. The album closes with my second favorite on the record, “Cigarette Smoke”. With slow acoustic guitar, it feels like “Gracie Abrams’ “I Knew It, I Know You” (2024). It shares a similar ache as the song fades and Olivia repeats the last line.

Olivia will be embarking on the sold-out Unraveled Tour beginning in September. Listen to you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love here.