Modern Love, Goth God Cosigns, and More Takeaways From Olivia Rodrigo’s New Album - Rolling Stone

Olivia Rodrigo is more than just pretty sad on her third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love. Over 13 tracks, the superstar depicts all the beautiful, ugly, and heart-wrenching emotions that come with being in love in a real, grown-up way. It’s been three years since Rodrigo’s last release, 2023’s Guts, and in that time she’s not just grown older, but wiser too — and her music reflects this hard-won maturity. She’s tapping into a new sonic palette and expanding her songwriting. Here are our key takeaways from the new project. Rodrigo has proven herself time and time again as a masterful writer of bruised ballads and scorned break-up anthems. It’s literally what introduced her to the world. But on You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, she dives into the gray areas of romantic relationships. She’s not belting about outright betrayal like on Sour or taking quippy shots at an ex like on Guts; instead, Rodrigo creates a disquieting unease throughout the album. On “Maggots For Brains,” she describes separation anxiety from a relationship with detailed lines like, “Everything feels moldy / Like the fruit that’s in my fridge.” The crushing one-two punch of “Less” and “Cigarette Smoke” are soft-sounding ruminations about the end of a relationship that find her coming to harsh realizations like “If loving me means saying ‘Babe, I think this is the end’ Well I guess I wish I wish I wish / You loved me less” and admitting, “I resent you / For not being brave.” —M.G. blogherads.adq.push(function () { blogherads .defineSlot( 'medrec', 'gpt-dsk-tab-article-inbody-uid0' ) .setTargeting( 'pos', ) .setTargeting( 'viewable', 'yes' ) .setSubAdUnitPath("music\/article\/inbody1") .addSize(,,,,,,,,]) .setClsOptimization("minsize") ; }); We knew Rodrigo was a rock scholar well before GSIL. Think of her “Deja Vu” reference — and eventual linkup — with Billy Joel, how the opening Guts rager “All-American Bitch” was inspired by Rage Against the Machine, and her appearance at the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, where she honored her pal Jack during the White Stripes’ induction. We watched a meeting of the minds go down between her and David Byrne last year, not once, but twice, while GSIL features a stunning duet with the Cure’s Robert Smith. But the rest of this magnificent record features glimpses of how deep her lifelong love of rock goes. Liv is clearly a New Wave girl now, nodding to Modern English on “Purple” (a refrain of “Melt with you” that’s sure to melt in our brains forever), while the shimmery synths of “Expectations” sound so Devo circa “Girl U Want” that she might as well be wearing an energy dome and partying with Booji Boy. And if “u + me = <3” being sonically reminiscent of the Cure wasn’t enough, she sings about trying to impress a guy’s sister with her taste in — wait for it — yacht rock! We can only dream that in Rodrigo’s spare time, she’s dialing up the Dan and singing along to “Deacon Blues.” Until then, we should all sit down and take notes from Professor Rodrigo. —A.M. blogherads.adq.push(function () { blogherads .defineSlot( 'medrec', 'gpt-dsk-tab-article-inbody2-uid1' ) .setTargeting( 'pos', ) .setTargeting( 'viewable', 'yes' ) .setSubAdUnitPath("music\/article\/inbody2") .addSize(,,,,,,,,]) .setLazyLoadMultiplier(2) .setClsOptimization("minsize") ; }); Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century Unlike Sour and Guts, which felt like collages of her experiences and deeply personal feelings, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love tells a full narrative of a relationship, beginning, middle, and end. It’s the first time we’ve seen Rodrigo write this way, with a full story in mind, and she drew from her real-life heartbreak and first “big girl relationship,” as she’s called it. The album is split into an A side and a B side, with the first half capturing the earliest butterflies (“Drop Dead”) and the excitement of being into someone (“Stupid Song”) and fully falling in love (“Honeybee”). The second half explores the downward spiral and the eventual end of a relationship. Rodrigo took the assignment seriously — she wanted this to be a tight-knit, linear story, and she works with Dan Nigro to make sure it unravels in a clear, plot-driven way. The narrative, mixed with the sequencing and how the songs fit, all build up to a journey of highs and lows. The device represents a leap in her storytelling—and makes You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love feel like her most complete album yet. —J.L. 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