LOTW 07: Olivia Rodrigo & Sluice
More good listens to report back on. Coincidentally they are both from this year, but that’s basically the only thing they have in common. Here we go!
“all-american bitch” & “lacy,” GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo (2023)
The people’s princess Olivia Rodrigo has returned with her long-awaited sophomore album GUTS. I went through my own mini Rodrigo-reckoning when SOUR came out in 2021 (read about it here if you haven’t, or if you wanna read it again), so I needed no convincing that GUTS would absolutely be worth a listen (or five).
Unfortunately, I can’t talk about the SOUR era without talking about the intense backlash Rodrigo received for some similarities between riffs/chords/sounds on her record to other popular songs (one of the most notable being Rodrigo giving Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Josh Farro songwriting credits on SOUR standout “good 4 u” after critiques that it sounded too much like their hit 2007 track “Misery Business,” resulting in multiple millions in royalties being taken away from the rising teen pop star and given to the seasoned pop punk band). This constant comparison stuck around for GUTS, with rumblings of ‘this song sounds too much like this song’ circling Twitter before I even got the chance to listen to the record in full.
More than anything, I feel bad that Rodrigo has to go through this all over again. After listening to the record, I understand where some are coming from (the shimmering production on “pretty isn’t pretty” does sound a lot like indie dream pop band Alvvays), but I think a lot of the criticism gets taken out of context. Take opening track “all-american bitch.” Go on any social media platform for the foreseeable future and you’ll see someone trying to compare the chorus to Miley Cyrus’s “Start All Over” from 2007 (Rodrigo’s track even comes up when you search “Start All Over” on Spotify). Yes, the choruses are similar (it sounds like the songs are in the same key?), but the verses are completely different, with Rodrigo going into her acoustic nursery rhyme falsetto, highlighting her ability to switch from raging teenager to self-controlled grownup. This back-and-forth is the point of the song itself, and ignoring that just to make a comparison does a disservice to the thought that went into it.
The internet seemed to take the “all-american bitch” verses as a challenge to some degree, because, after a brief YouTube search, I found that someone went even further, posting a mash-up of Rodrigo’s track, “Start All Over,” and Lady Gaga’s “Joanne.” The acoustic backing on “Joanne” does easily replace the backing on the verses of “all-american bitch,” simply because the songs are in the same key. While obviously, these similarities exist, and the tune of the verses may sound like one song and the chorus another, I like “all-american bitch” for what it is. In the debate of whether or not we can call this copying, I stand on the side that there is only so much music out there to work with—meaning, so many notes, chords, combinations, or even keys to write songs in, especially in the somewhat limited category of pop music reaching for broad appeal. I also think we should just leave Rodrigo alone. This breaking down, piecing together, and comparing happens every time she releases music, and it’s not something I see happening to others in a similar spotlight, even though they all have their fair share of songs that sound like other songs.
But more on the record itself. The thing that stands out most to me, across tracks, is Rodrigo’s vocal delivery. Her word vomit-esque, spill your darkest secrets tone and rushed/syncopated phrasing makes the whole record, especially the pop-punk tracks, feel incredibly conversational (specifically, “bad idea, right?” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl”). A couple of other standouts include the intro of “get him back!” which evokes Beastie Boys’ “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun,” but the chorus falls flat for me. I realized I often dislike Rodrigo’s backing vocals because they sound like tweens are singing them, even if it is just her own vocals layered on top of each other. Not sure why it gives off a 12-year-old vibe. One thing that’s certain is when Rodrigo wants to sing, she can sing, and GUTS is just reminding people (see “making the bed”). My most divisive opinion, though, which has been solidified by my favorite/least favorite tracks off GUTS, is that even though Rodrigo was made famous by her piano ballads (think “drivers license”), I prefer the pop-punk version of her. Rodrigo shines the brightest when she ventures away from her roots and fills her rightful place as Gen Z’s answer to early 2000s girl rock.
Listen if you like: crying, word vomit, oversharing, sleepovers, Miley Cyrus’s “Start All Over,” Alvvays, and anything else Rodrigo is being compared to
“Centurion,” “Fourth of July,” “New Leicester,” Radial Gate, Sluice (2023)
Sluice is the stage name for indie rock artist Justin Morris. From North Carolina but since relocated to New York, Sluice’s sound is deeply rooted in NC psych, with a sprinkle of NYC garage rock in all the right places. Radial Gate, released in March of this year, is the follow-up to his Self-Titled debut from 2019.
The album itself keeps folk as its central point. Vocals evoking Nick Drake cut deep on “Centurion,” which also features driving War on Drugs-esque instrumentation; specifically, persistent percussion that gives the track an intense pacing, and the build-and-release of layers of electric guitar and distortion that come and go, creating waves of vigor that explode with a gritty guitar solo by the track’s end. This goes right into the more classically folk “Fourth of July.” Pensive and liminal, with lyrics about memories and the passing of time, Morris meditates on reconnecting with people in his life and how things change: “I am nine years old in line for breaststroke / I am running to dad’s car / No I am here, I am 25 / I don’t have 20 minutes for your bullshit.” These lines sneak up on first listen, delivering a sly hit of emotion that comes relatively out of nowhere. It gives off the vibe of reconnecting with your childhood home as a grown adult, and the dissonance that exists between who you were as a kid and all you’ve gone through since then. Oof.
Radial Gate ends with the six-minute epic “New Leicester,” which departs from typical song structure to tell the story of a friend’s wedding from Morris’ perspective. The song continues to circle around themes of reconnecting with old friends. What starts as a cautious telling of the day’s events (and even includes the eerie sounds of creaking wood, evoking an image of sneaking around somewhere), ends with an overflow of sound that comes across as joy. The strings and percussion build as the story progresses, with more and more instruments coming into the fold. By the end of the song, Morris is singing about floating away and giving himself “to all that is beautiful,” seeming to trust in the ways of the universe and how things will turn out for him.
Listen if you like: Bryter Layter, “Souvenir” by boygenius, hiking, the intersection of Fleet Foxes and My Morning Jacket, middle of nowhere nature, being depressed but then feeling better after you see your friends
That’s all folks! There’s always more to come. Check out what else has been great this week/month/year here.
Outside of all that is the spreadsheet, read my new piece for The Line of Best Fit here. UK-based Home Counties bring a synthy dance groove on their newest single “Bethnal Green,” a departure from their previous punk-rooted sounds. Definitely recommend checking it out if you’re in the mood to move.
