How's the castle built off people you pretend to care about?

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts

15/09/23 : GUTS - Olivia Rodrigo 

I liked her last album a lot more than I was expecting to, but I have to say the snippets I've been played of this one haven't overly impressed me, except for "vampire" which I do quite like - but I have to give the whole album a chance.

Hmmm, it's not as immediate as Sour and doesn't have any absolute killer tracks, but it feels like it could be a grower - along with "vampire", I also liked "all-american bitch", "pretty is pretty" and "teenage dream" .  It also feels like a more mature album - yes, she's got boy troubles but she does seem to be willing to countenance the possibility that she might also be part of the problem.  There's more of a mix of styles on this album - some of it is quite Tayloresque, some Lanaish and there's also quite a strong 80s thread running through some of the tracks.  It's probably worth a re-listen - which I'll probably never do.

We're at #1 in the album charts with a new entry this week and the rest of the top five are Travis Scott, The Coral (another new entry, which I'd be tempted to check out), The Weeknd and Roisin Murphy (another new entry I might listen to).  We have two more new entries in the top ten - The Chemical Brothers (#6 - three of interest this week!) and M Huncho (#9).  The other entry of interest in the top ten is one Olivia Rodrigo at #8 - 121 weeks on the chart and counting.  

Last week I said that Royal Blood would drop to #44 and I'm pleased to report that I got one of the numbers right!  Unfortunately, given that criterion, I couldn't have been further away because they're at #94 - which makes me impressively wrong!  I suspect Olivia won't drop quite as far as that - I'm going to stick with my lucky number and say it'll be #4 for her next week.  And this weeks Taylor stats are NONE in the top ten (poor lass!), three in the top twenty and a mere eight in the whole chart - she's losing her grip, I tell you.

Wikipedia has a lot for a new album (191 milliPeppers) but there's very little content there - she recorded it and has released it and a load of singles.  The critics liked it, saying it speaks to older generations as well as Gen Z - even Robert Christgau (at the ripe old age of 81) liked it saying it was "an aesthetic triumph that deepens its psychological complexity with diverting jokes".  And commercially it's done OK I guess - with it getting to the top five everywhere except for Japan (they're funny over there).

"Customers also listened to" Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Miguel (who?) - at least three artists in a very similar marketplace certainly.  I don't mind Olivia and she's dialled down some of the dramatics here which is to her credit - it lacks the first time hooks that Sour did, but I have a sneaking suspicion it'll be hanging around for a bit yet.

08/09/23 - Surprisingly uneventful
15/09/23 - A Friday Brucie bonus

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