Well, good for you - you look happy and healthy

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2021

#8 : Sour - Olivia Rodrigo

Not since Britney Spears shimmied her way down a hallway dressed in school uniform has a debut single had such an immediate cultural impact: within four days of Olivia Rodrigo releasing Drivers License, the song had broken Spotify’s record for the most single-day streams for a non-holiday song; it would spend nine consecutive weeks at No 1 on the UK charts. Like Spears, Rodrigo also got her start with Disney, however, Rodrigo’s pathway to pop dominance wasn’t built on dance routines and Max Martin-penned bangers. Sour is an intimate, barbed, anxious and brilliantly crafted debut album about the butchery of heartbreak and the emotional hurricane that is being a teenager. Picture Rodrigo swooping in wearing a cheerleader outfit and Doc Martens while brandishing a baseball bat, her face still wet with tears.

Even someone as far from as being down with the kids as me was aware of Olivia and her album - both daughters gave me a countdown to when it was being released and listened to it constantly for, oooh, at least two days before moving on to the next thing.  And I was also aware and didn't mind Drivers License - and it only took me a couple of thousand listens to remember it wasn't by Lana Del Rey.  So whilst I think it's safe to say this album wasn't aimed at me, I was interested to listen to it.

And you know what, it's not bad at all.  They're pretty decent tracks, with considerably more variety across the album than you might expect and she sings them well.  And I'd go as far as saying "good 4 u" is a cracking track (and yes, I'd heard it before, but I'd not managed to remember it was by our Livvy).  The only thing I'd say is that it might have been nice to have had one sentence of one track that didn't relate to her break-up with that guy that I've been told all about by my delightful offspring many times, but obviously I can't remember the name of now (and I can assure you I really don't care).  I'm also not 100% convinced by the album cover - I think she's trying to say something to me, but I'm not sure what.

Wikipedia has a HUGE amount on the album (470 milliPeppers) and, if I'm being honest, I didn't read it all - although I did notice this quote "Being angry, jealous, overly emotional or sad can often be framed as being bitchy or moany" and I think she's right in that she doesn't come across as ONLY bitchy or moany - but I'd still argue she's maybe a bit obsessed.  It will be interesting to see where she goes next though.  The critics generally liked the album, but not as much as the general public liked it - they loved, loved, loved it.  But you probably already know that - particularly if you've got daughters.  Unless you live in Hungary, where it only made it to #32 in the charts - otherwise, it's safest to assume it made it to #1.

"Customers also listened to" Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles - one of these things is not the same, kids.  Yeah, that's right - you won't catch Billie in a dress.  I liked this album more than I was expecting though (and much more than Billie's offering from this year) - she's got a good voice and there are some fine tunes on there.  Yes, she is a bit whiny but she manages to show more variation in her whining than I was expecting.

#9 - A re-listen turned up absolutely nothing new
#7 - Some fine quirky indie-rock