A Poptimist’s Top 10 Albums of 2023 — Part 5: Olivia Rodrigo & Paramore

For the beginning of this list (starting from 10th place), please check it out on Musical Mayhem!

Photo by James Stamler on Unsplash

2. GUTS — Olivia Rodrigo

Released: September 8th, 2023

Genre: Pop-Rock, Singer-Songwriter

GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo is the Gen Z superstar’s sophomore album. After her abrupt astronomical breakout with her debut single Drivers License and consecutive success with the smash hit good4u and debut album SOUR (2021), it was only natural for all the new eyes on her to wonder what her next move would look like. Luckily, she was able to turn all that pressure into the shining diamond that is the widely critically acclaimed sophomore project — masterfully dodging the damning ‘sophomore flop’ title. In this recent album, the fiery, melancholic, and introspective teenage girl we initially met in SOUR (2021) is still present — but 20-year-old Olivia also now ramps up her rockstar status with grungy satire to take out all the new and static frustrations life continues to pile on her.

Highlights: bad idea right?, all-american bitch, get him back!, lacy, teenage dream

Every part of Rodrigo’s artistry feels like a wish granted from a shooting star. There has not been any other artist in this new pop generation that feels as exciting as her, in my eyes. This new album takes her best artistic traits — her diaristic turned universal songwriting and sonic taste for coloring outside pop music lines — and turns the guitar amps up some notches. I am constantly amazed when I listen to this album at how big the strides in songwriting skill, sonic experimentation, and overall maturity as a person she took. The heavy lean on various subgenres and periods of rock, plus the ability to address emotional anguish both profoundly and also through satirical writing makes for a project compelling enough to become an instant classic. It’s the human experience: exhilarating, messy, self-deprecating, funny, remorseful, devastating, vindictive, and somber.

The dicey second single bad idea right? is inarguably one of the best things to come out of pop music this year. This chaotic, sarcastic, rowdy, INCREDIBLY risky garage rock inspired song led me to have a key revelation regarding Olivia as an artist and even expanding to the state of modern pop music. It gives me a sense of security to see where the future of music is headed thanks to a superstar like her putting this song out into the world, showing that she carries a wise understanding that pop music is meant to be pompous, frivolous, and endlessly taffy-pulled to incorporate various genres within — which I feel has been lost over the years. It’s refreshing to hear this sound and level of campiness from her and in the space of pop. The comical verses present like 2000s teen movie dialogue with the exaggerated valley girl tone coming through a muffled filter that might as well be from the end of a brightly colored rotary phone. The narrator continues to acknowledge how much of a stupid idea it is to hook up with an ex with lots of self-deprecation, increasing in concern that gives us the iconic refrain of “Seein’ you tonight, it’s a bad idea right?”. Ultimately she gives in with a defeated “fuck it, it’s fine” and the tale of a fun form of self-sabotage plays out like a mini chick flick. The guitar casually chugs along with its riff all throughout, but for the chorus it overdrives, the drums batter off, and the chanted vocals combine at full level to make for a practically overbearing, but glorious rambunctious wall. The sharp distorted guitar solo that goes haywire at the bridge charms me every time. In an already unruly song, I adore how at every section it just keeps upping the ante.

Feminine rage anthem all-american bitch slaps the previous teen angst opener brutal from SOUR (2021) clean in the face. Tackling such a significant but broad subject of women playing the perfect balancing act to exist as inoffensively as possible for the patriarchal society is not an easy feat, but the execution of the concept is nailed down so cleverly. The verses lay a carefree platform with the Americana-style picked riffs and her refined darling vocal delivery… of lyrics laced in passive aggressive politeness to prove she’s the ideal woman. A quick crash of drums takes us to reveal the true emotions in the raging chorus of heavy slamming guitars and shouty vocals. I really like the detail of how the first chorus cuts out at ‘perfect all-american’ to keep up some civility, and the second/final chorus lets the persona fully drop with these extended lyrics of teasing hostility and new revved up high-toned guitar line. Oh, and the marvelous ensemble of straight up screams, of course. I also love the abrupt snap of the outro that puts the mask of the verses back on, almost kind of creepily knowing the true madness behind the soft demeanor.

get him back! was one of the immediate standouts during the album’s release, and for good reason. I find the whole track to be incredibly infectious, but that hook of the open air chorus is such a satisfying pop melody, and the creative lyrics alongside it plays a big part of the general appeal; the mischievous yet ingenious lyrics use the contradictory double meanings of the title phrase: to get him back with revenge or get back into the relationship with him. I love this style of a laid back pop-rock vibe that reminds me of bad idea right? but presented with more slack. The zooming fuzzy guitar and clanging drums keep the momentum up throughout the song alongside the melody. The softly rap-adjacent, somewhat theatrical verses that deliver like gossip with friends is so fun to recite. However, I can’t not mention the beloved bridge that further plays with the double meaning used in the chorus by listing off scenarios of opposing sweet and sour moods. The drawn out delivery building up in enthusiasm with a pattern of background vocals to fill in the gaps, plus the amusing lyrics is so addicting. The encouraging spouts to ‘get him back’ at the end of the song are also really cute. By the end, I also really want to meet his mom and tell her her son sucks!

Lacy and Teenage Dream are the best ballads of the project that happen to share similarities in their uneasiness, but each story themselves present as rather hypothetical versus reality. Lacy was my initial favorite of the album with its unique and striking quality. First of all, the angle of female jealousy turned up to a haunting degree was carried out so well. The lyrics depict a stalkerish admirer of a girl named ‘Lacy’ rambling off a mix of poetic compliments and signs of personal distress. That dichotomy is also perfectly reflected sonically by the delicate acoustic guitar picking and angelic aerial background vocals cushioning the intricately creepily sung whispered vocals. The song stays pretty mild in terms of sonic intensity, but the bridge of swirling ascendant background vocals are heavenly and give off the impression that the narrator is feeling high off of the euphoria ‘Lacy’ gives them. All in all, it creates a really interesting, but very unsettling mood.

Meanwhile, the dispirited closer Teenage Dream is a song found at the end of the dark tunnel of Rodrigo’s teenage years. Now that there is no going back to that chapter of her life as she faces her first taste of adulthood, I love how she directly references the iconic line from the teen angst anthem Brutal off of SOUR (2021) — “Where’s my fucking teenage dream?” — to turn it into the remorseful goodbye of “And I’m sorry that I couldn’t always be your teenage dream”. The melodramatic piano (with some additional heart-tugging strings) and deeply insightful assessments and wonders about the future bleeds out a harrowing and hopeless black river. Just when you think it’s hard hitting enough, the bridge brings out the big guns with the thunderous, fearsome instrumental and lines “They all say that it gets better / It gets better the more you grow / Yeah, they all say that it gets better / It gets better, but what if I don’t?” bashing over your head again and again. As deeply depressing as this song is, I’m really glad an unglamorous coming of age depiction exists in this form of mainstream media. This track provides a sort of comfort that only shared misery could love.

1. This Is Why — Paramore

Released: February 10th, 2023

Genre: Post-Punk, Alt-rock

This Is Why by Paramore is the renowned rock band’s sixth studio album. Having conquered the 2000s emo scene and a secured spot in pop culture history with the slew of hits such as Misery Business, Decode, and Ain’t It Fun, the band’s comeback after their five-year hiatus was highly anticipated. Although known for their emo-punk roots, their sonic evolution incorporating more pop elements over the years left lots to speculate about the soundscape for this new album. However, what has come out on the other side is ultimately a project that’s an assured culmination of everything the band stands for — defiance, vengeance, rocking guitars, hunger to prevail, and most importantly, all three invaluable members. While the main principles are present, the modern Paramore in this album wears their personal nuisances, fragilities, and politics on clean and dynamic post-punk sleeves.

Highlights: Crave, Liar, You First, Big Man, Little Dignity, The News, C’est Comme Ça

This is, without a single doubt, the album that personally defines the year of 2023 for me. Back in February of this year when my promise to keep up with music releases was still at its freshest, This Is Why became the first full album of Paramore that I properly dug into. Now — based on my love of guitars and prior knowledge of the band’s hit singles, I always felt like I would love them if I ever gave myself the chance. Well, this comeback was my perfect chance; I expected to enjoy it and did on first listen, but I found that the album really grew on me to the point where I suddenly looked up and it’s the only album I’ve been listening to for weeks on end. The seed for the fanatic spiral had been planted and I was off to the races, attempting to satiate this newfound hunger for all things Paramore. Being able to look and take a step back now, I am so grateful I was able to find a new favorite act that has quickly become a defining artist for me.

Back to the album itself, I think it is an apt representation of the band that encapsulates their roots of punk rock but is such a notably evolved and modern version of that with personal, lyrical, and sonic growth. I love how fully realized and well-rounded the sound is; you can just hear all the care that went into it with every micro flick of the guitar, punchy or arpeggio rhythmic pattern, and clean, crisp quality production. Its sharpness captures the perfect balance of cohesion and dynamics, plus the great balance of hostility and sleekness to the sound. I want to mention as well that this album contains some of their best songwriting overall. The so smartly written lyrics with wit, snarkiness, and great metaphorical and literal visualizations all line up to a clear emotional arc through the tracklisting. The antic emotive and skilled vocal performance by miss Williams is also exceptional, but that should be no surprise to anyone. While a brief album (and their shortest overall), each song has a clear right to be there and make the most out of their minutes. This album is also just a refreshing sound in the current popular music landscape, especially as the recent years led to a resurgence in the classic 2000s pop punk sound and yet Paramore have not taken any bait by continuing to reinvigorate their style.

Crave is certainly a new all-time classic for me. While Williams exclaims “So I crave, crave to do it again, all again” — I do in fact crave to listen to this song over and over, to practically live in it. This song has such a warm and blissful atmosphere that feels like it only exists in a time between time, which is also quite fitting for the subject matter. Coming towards the end of an album that recalls a number of frustrations and self-sabotage, this bittersweet track sees the narrator endlessly yearning for the present moment and therefore treating every delightful and depressing life experience equally as precious. While the message could be perceived as forlorn as they can’t help but grieve the present moment that always seems to be slipping away, it all derives from overflowing gratitude that recognizes the joy of life. The soundscape also does a lot to bring about the sense of hopefulness, as the foundational major seventh chords flickering throughout feel like shimmering streams of light reflecting off of a still lake. The kick-heavy drum pattern, quiet bass, and dreamy reverb on the guitar create a soothing balm for the glowier elements of the sparkly guitar picking and the desireful vocals. As Hayley’s astounding voice belts out the word ‘crave’ in the chorus, it bursts us open to a wide, welcoming ambiance where we are left to sit in awe as her voice reaches out to embrace us. The bridge shows off pounds of the drums and amps up the bass significantly to help ground us as the echoey vocals are lost in contemplation about the past, present, and future. I am fully in love with every bit of this song; it’s a pure gift that feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to hear.

The shining, rare gem that is the sweet love song Liar is the the only track on the album that is truthfully gentle in its entirety. The title itself is an interesting trick, as initially it seems perfectly in line with the other songs that are focused on grievances. When the tender instrumental started and the lyrics of the first verse began to unravel, I personally at least, thought the story was setting up to be one of acknowledging the direct harm the narrator caused someone else and apologizing for it. While that thesis certainly isn’t too far from the real story, I was not expecting the ‘harm’ to be…essentially love. When the chorus first comes in, it feels like I’m the person having the revelation for the first time that ‘Oh, we’ve been in love with each other this whole time?’. The lie of the liar is revealed to be not nasty, violent, or even really destructive — but unspoken love that was always there now being spoken aloud. The narrator realizes the fault of withholding it, but really, we can see that there’s still love in every inaction of trying to protect the person you love so much. The storytelling is obviously the star of the show here, and the glimmers of guitar, smooth hum of the bass, and humble compressed drums are the perfect complements; it all sets an incredibly intimate atmosphere. The main guitar line picks ever so softly, as to not risk bruising the naked truth of what is being revealed while it acts as peaking strings of light shining through the glowing heart. The warm blush of the bass reminds me of skin to skin human contact, and the heart thumping kick drums could either be from sinking or floating, or be the steps you take to make your way to the other person, with Hayley’s fond voice as the overhead narrator of the movie you won’t be able to watch yourself, speaking your thoughts aloud for you.

In the bangers You First and The News, the passive aggressiveness of most of the tracks in the album has jumped out of the water and passed the threshold of composure. For You First, it is now pure vengeance centered around the idea of waiting for karma to pay the narrator’s enemy a visit. Everything about the incredibly addictive sharp guitar tapped riff, pumping rhythm of the drums, to the vindictive and biting lyrics and William’s evocative vocals has created a song where spite has never sounded and felt this good. The song keeps the energy revved up with the industrial gruff bass and guitar slamming, and high geared beating drums while the vocal melody is able to match that spirit. I love how the chorus has a juxtaposition between the more legato leaning vocal melody and the fast rhythmic guitar that really plays with the sense of stability. This album is no stranger to this style of rhythm, but here the contrast is the most prominent. The jarring nature does a great job at sonically supporting the overflowing outpour of yelling with hot blood flowing and heating up your whole body and all the ugly emotions of distress, anguish, etc. while you feel the alarming and pounding heartbeat in your chest that drives a need for aggression. There are many great lyrics here, but the chorus is an absolute killer and perfectly captures the song’s point of greatly anticipating your enemy’s karma, wishing just the worst for them while acknowledging you’re not an angel yourself. I also find the cooled off bridge where the narrator calmly delivers aggravation with conviction with lines like “never said I wasn’t petty” amusing and the second verse lines “Turns out I’m living in a horror film / Where I’m both the killer and the final girl / So who, who are you?” have earned a permanent spot in the back of my head ever since I heard it.

I enjoy The News for the shared pure anger in Hayley’s voice and harsh guitars, but it’s especially rightfully so with the topic of trying to deal with the nightmare circus of what modern day news has currently evolved too. The chorus of The News with the pumping drums and brashing guitar alongside the catchy yet exasperated vocal delivery is of course a huge part of what makes this song great, but I find the verses in particular just so addicting because of Williams’ snarky delivery of each line.

Speaking of a song where Williams’ specialty of manipulating her voice is truly essential to the track’s essence is the single C’est Comme Ça. The French expression directly translates to “It’s like that” and is used similarly to the English language sentiment as for instance: ‘That’s just how it is.’ The structure of the song is pretty simple yet at the same time one of the band’s most unprecedented songs yet; the repetitive chorus of “C’est comme ça, c’est comme ça / Na-na-na-na-na-na-na” paired with amusing voice-filtered verses that are recited like a stand up comedy performance doesn’t ring as very Paramore-like. As one of the pre-released singles, the result of the slightly jarring format led to it being quite a divisive track. I can completely see how others find this track off putting, but personally… I genuinely enjoy the commitment to throwing stoicism to the walls and just fucking around! The perspective of this song reminds me of the whole concept of the band’s fifth studio album, After Laughter (2017) — reaching that profound level of depression where you suddenly find the mess of your situation to be kind of hilarious. If you’re not friendly with that state of mind, yeah, this song is not for you. Personally, with every listen I just appreciate it more and more. The lyrics are genuinely funny and the chorus has turned into a little anthem for me. Therefore, I’m calling for justice for this track — Paramore are right, this is just how it is!

Bonus spotlight for some of my individual favorite songs of the year!

If you’re looking for energizing fun…

• BSS — Fighting (feat. Lee Young Ji)
• SEVENTEEN — God of Music
• STAYC — Poppy
• fromis_9 — #menow
• TOMORROW X TOGETHER — Chasing That Feeling

If you’re looking for melting enchantment…

• BSS — 7pm (feat. Peder Elias)
• Sarah Kinsley — Lovegod
• beabadoobee & Laufey — A Night To Remember
• Tinashe — Treason
• Taylor Swift — Timeless
• Taylor Swift — Say Don’t Go

If you’re looking for an indulgent night…

• SEVENTEEN — I Don’t Understand But I Love You
• KEY — CoolAs
• Tinashe — Uh Huh
• Taylor Swift — I Can See You

Are there any more music releases you would recommend? What are some of your favorites that I missed? If you want to gush about music together in the comments, you’re welcomed!