Olivia Rodrigo's 'Guts' is a no-skip album but these 2 songs are the best of the bunch

The title of Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, “Guts,” indicates bravery, or perhaps the idiomatic spilling of one’s innermost feelings.

Both apply to the 12-song offering, out now, which bites as it aches with vulnerability. It’s understandable that Rodrigo, 20, has clearly struggled with the web of fame that blanketed her from the stratospheric success of her Grammy-winning debut, “Sour,” and breakthrough single “Drivers License.”

Her confessional lyrics coupled with edgy pop made her a hero among Gen Z listeners. But Rodrigo’s cross-generational appeal – she even sang onstage with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – thrust her into a spotlight that apparently caused some angst.

From the opening sweet-turned-tangy “All-American Bitch” to the whispery ballad that closes this chapter of her journey, “Teenage Dream,” Rodrigo wields sarcasm and tender-heartedness with equal acuity.

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Aside from a couple of writing assists from Dan Nigro, who produced “Sour” as well as her new release, Rodrigo handles her own songwriting. Sometimes she’s bluntly funny (“I want to meet his mom just to tell her her son sucks,” she chants in the gleefully spiteful “Get Him Back!”), other times heartbreaking (“We both drew blood, but those cuts were never equal,” she laments on “The Grudge,” one of several songs with some well-placed expletives).

Musically, Rodrigo sticks with the formula that instantly endeared her from the time she arrived in 2021: pop that slow-burns into a cresting boom of melodic punk.

All of “Guts” is destined for millions of streams, because there isn’t a clunker among her efficient offerings, but these two tracks are standouts.

‘Making the Bed’

This piano ballad is the definition of a young woman searching, wondering, trying to make sense of complicated emotions. Rodrigo spotlights her self-doubts (“Another day pretending I’m older than I am”), her muddled reactions to fame (“Push away all the people who know me the best”) and an overall desire to “pull the sheets over my head.”

With a less genuine singer, Rodrigo’s ruminations could be perceived as whiny. But her authenticity is so palpable, you just want to give her a hug.

“They tell me that they love me like I’m some tourist attraction,” she sighs with her deliberate delivery as the song’s sumptuous melody escalates into a fury of guitars. But this time, the comedown is hard.

‘Pretty Isn’t Pretty’

Over a clean, driving guitar line, Rodrigo emphasizes sentiments of feeling ugly and fidgety (“There’s always something in the mirror that I think looks wrong”).

But despite its lyrical load of insecurity, the song is pure ‘80s-influenced pop. A basic four-on-the-floor beat, a soaring chorus and textbook utilization of Rodrigo’s upper range are delectable enough; then the song rolls into a bridge nearly as perfect as the one in “Drivers License.”

She might be only 20, but her musings are highly relatable – regardless of your decade in life.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olivia Rodrigo 'Guts': Best songs on Grammy winner's second album