If You Loved SOUR, Here’s What To Listen To Next
This blog was originally published on July 8, 2021.
Pop punk? Heartbreak ballads? Rock? Olivia Rodrigo has a song for everyone. I’ve had her album, SOUR, on repeat since its release at the end of May. I love it. Olivia’s songwriting is vivid and her world building is immaculate.
After her soaring ascent to the top of the Billboard charts with “drivers license”, Olivia kept the hits rolling out. In the lead up to SOUR ’s release on May 21, she released two other singles, “deja vu” and “good 4 u” and with each new single, new sounds were released from Olivia’s music box. “drivers license” is the quintessential indie-esque breakup ballad, “deja vu” is full of pop rock vibes, and “good 4 u” is undeniably pop punk.
After listening to SOUR, discussing the album with friends, and reading reviews, I started to notice a common thread. Comparisons to Taylor Swift, Lorde, Billie Eilish, and even Phoebe Bridgers kept surfacing. A proclaimed Swiftie herself, Olivia even samples Taylor’s song “New Year’s Day” on the album. Some reviews painted these comparisons negatively, seemingly trying to say that Olivia is just another ballad-singing-songwriter with nothing new to say. That’s not how I see it.
So, I ran with this comparison idea and spun it into a positive light. I started listening back to some of my favorite tracks (not by Olivia) and listened for similarities. Lyrics that mirrored each other, songs that pair together by expressing two opposing points of view, songs with similar subjects, and even songs that use the same sounds. It’s true that there are only so many chords, notes, and words to use, but it’s the way that musicians put them together that makes an artist unique. Inspiration can come from anywhere and Olivia is the perfect reflection of inspiration pulled from favorite singer-songwriters of our current musical era.
Here’s what to listen to next, based on your favorite tracks from SOUR. And a playlist to go with it.
brutal (Olivia Rodrigo) | Perfect Places (Lorde)
Being young is tough, okay?
traitor (Olivia Rodrigo) | Burn (Phillipa Soo from Hamilton)
The ones we love the most have the power to hurt us the worse. If sad songs about betrayal and misplaced trust are your jam, blast these tunes in your car and sing along.
driver’s license (Olivia Rodrigo) | Forever & Always (Taylor Swift)
“Guess you didn’t mean what you wrote in that song about me” directly translates into “And you flashback to when he said ‘forever and always.’ ” Heartbreak hurts.
1 step forward, 3 steps back (Olivia Rodrigo) | Dear John (Taylor Swift) | Favourite Ex (Maisie Peters)
These songs all mirror each other and are about the people we like, but just can’t figure out because mixed signals are confusing, ya know? These lines really drive this idea home: “Which lover will I get today? Will you walk me to the door or send me home crying?” | “Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone, tonight” | “It was stabs in the back and the nice things you said when you were wasted”
deja vu (Olivia Rodrigo) | Graveyard (Kelsea Ballerini) | Cruel Summer (Taylor Swift)
Okay, bear with me on this one. The narrative of Kelsea’s song sounds like the girl Olivia is singing about in “deja vu” is singing “Graveyard” to the next girl this notorious boy dates. Beware next girl because it sounds like you’re in for a cruel summer!
good 4 u (Olivia Rodrigo) | 7 Things (Miley Cyrus) | Misery Business (Paramore) | Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor Swift)
It’s about time we got some sassy break-up pop punk music back on the charts. (And I threw Taylor into this mix because somehow guys always seem to come away from relationships perfectly unscathed, so glad all the heartbreakers out there are doing so well… how casually cruel. Ugh.)
enough for you (Olivia Rodrigo) | Tolerate It (Taylor Swift) | Liability (Lorde)
Ouch. Enough said.
happier (Olivia Rodrigo) | Happier (Ed Sheeran) | Heather (Conan Gray)
happier v. Happier: “I thought my heart was detached from all the sunlight of our past” | “I could try to smile and hide the truth, but I know I was happier with you”
happier v. Heather: “She’s beautiful, she looks kind, I bet she gives you butterflies” | “But how could I hate her, she’s such an angel”
jealousy, jealousy (Olivia Rodrigo) | Thoughts (Sasha Sloan) | Slow Hands (Niall
Horan)
Sometimes your worst enemy is you.
(Also, listen to 1:04 in “jealousy, jealousy” and 0:02 in “Slow Hands” Hmm…)
favorite crime (Olivia Rodrigo) | Getaway Car (Taylor Swift)
“favorite crime” is the other perspective of the story in “Getaway Car.” No joke, go listen!
hope ur ok (Olivia Rodrigo) | Smoke Signals (Phoebe Bridgers)
“hope ur ok” gives me all the Phoebe Bridgers vibes- the lyrics, the vocals, the guitar. It was hard to pick which Phoebe song to put here, but ultimately I went with “Smoke Signals”. The connection that is at the heart of both of these songs is the connection between people and how these connections stay with us.
