On June 12, 2026, pop-rock artist Oliva Rodrigo released her third studio album, “you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love”. Following two sides of the coin, that is, relationships, Rodrigo shows us the love and loss respectively with its two parts: Girl So in Love and You Seem Pretty Sad. The album has shifted from the teen angst so prevalent in both her previous albums “SOUR” and “GUTS,” into a mature and revitalized outlook on romance from the 23-year-old artist.

Both the lead single and opening track of the album “drop dead” introduce listeners to this new era with an upbeat, funky pop sound, giving insights into a new relationship and the feeling of joy and jitters that follow. The use of sing-rapping in a stream-of-consciousness monologue starting with the verses “And I feel like I might throw up Left hook, right punch to the gut…” gives the track that playful, nervous feeling audiences associate with flirting.

Moving on to tracks two and three, we continue to fall further into love. “Stupid Song” found itself as my personal favorite on the album. I love the epic orchestration building in the first verse before it launches into the rest of the track. Rodrigo encapsulates the disorientation and insanity that obsession and love give you. Meanwhile, “honeybee” is a gentler, softer presentation of love. Its slow melody and tone of voice initially had me mistaking it for a song of heartbreak when its lyrics are the opposite, showing a wish for what their love can become. The highlight of the track is the genuine confession in the chorus’s lyrics: “And I hope I never see what your face looks like going, A face I swear that I could spend my whole life knowing. Herе's to hoping.” The song also features backing vocals from Rodrigo’s longtime friend Conan Gray and Lily Elise.

Track four, “Maggots for Brains”, starts to slightly expose us to the small, fractured pieces that could metaphorically send this relationship “off the tracks”. Yet, “U + Me = <3” returns us to the carefree and joyous love tracks we’ve known the album for so far. It would go perfectly in a rom-com or coming-of-age film with its punchy and relatable lyrics. The bridge reminds me of “And he would take us out to parties and the night would never end. Another song, another club, another bar, another dance, and when he said something wrong, he'd just fly me to France” in “get him back!”

“My Way”, track six, throws us right back into her punk-pop style. The song is snarky and confident, vengeful of this other character who seemingly is trying to win over her love interest. The song reminds me strongly of “Better Than Revenge” by Taylor Swift.

“Purple” is the last track on the “Girl So in Love” side of the album. It focuses on the mundane joys of being in love, getting to know your partner's hometown, having a toothbrush at their place, etc. However, the song has an underlying uneasiness that comes out in the outro within the lyrics “Melt with you 'til it all turns black, Melt with you 'til it just feels sad”, transitioning us into the second half of the album “You Seem Pretty Sad”.

The second single and eighth track, “The Cure,” begins with the same uneasy feeling through the use of guitar that builds up until the first chorus. It explores the spiral of attempting to mask mental health struggles through the love and validation received from a romantic partner. Throughout the song, Rodrigo contrasts both antidotes and cures. She connects the romantic relationship with the antidote concept, being a temporary fix, though ultimately unsustainable. By the end of the track, she is still lacking the key to her incurable unraveling caused by consistent mental turmoil.

Track nine, “begged,” Rodrigo initially debuted on Saturday Night Live when she served as both the host and musical guest on the episode. The song is extremely emotional and delivers her best vocal performance on the album, in my opinion. The lack of over-production makes it extremely honest and equally heartbreaking, and her use of her lower range only adds to the ballad as it doesn’t come across as flashy or try to be impressive. I hope for it to grow as a quote-unquote “cult classic”, with it easily being my second favorite on the album.

Next is “What's Wrong With Me (feat. Robert Smith)”, which marks Rodrigo's first-ever collaboration on an original song (not including songs for movies or television).

“I am still in disbelief that Robert, who is in my eyes one of the most brilliant, legendary, wonderful people to ever exist, is on this record with me.” Rodrigo shared on her Instagram in reference to this tenth track.

In all honesty, I did not like the addition of Robert Smith’s verse. However, I enjoy the lyricism overall and can’t deny its catchiness. The concept of realizing that someone you once held so close is now the source of your pain makes for a strong theme for this track.

Nearing the end with tracks eleven and twelve, track eleven delivers the heartbreaking and soft piano ballad “Less”. My favorite lyric from this song is “But you've seen me truly happy, so you know right now I'm not”, facing the consequences of the feelings she was hiding in “whats wrong with me”. She wishes her muse loved her less to prevent a less painful or damaging fallout in the aftermath. Track twelve, “expectations,” provides a short lift in mood to highlight her personal development in having a set of standards when looking for a new love interest. Featuring '80s-inspired synth-pop, it’s fun, relatable, and comedic.

Closing the album with “Cigarette Smoke”, Rodrigo hits us right back down after we stood up. She uses smoke as a metaphor for how the memory of her ex follows around and lingers even after it’s all over. This song delivers a variety of gut-wrenching lyrics such as “I thought that we played the perfect couple, 'Til you didn’t want the part.” “Give me back my time, and I will give you back your heart”, and of course, “But it's better than begging for you to stand up for me, honeybee,” referencing back to the love song of track three. The bridge is an epic conclusion to the entire work, with a large crescendo that feels all encompassing, before fading out with the repetitive outro, leaving her spiraling still.

For my final thoughts, I believe this album covered a unique concept, tracing the entirety of a relationship from start to end, following not the heartbreak after a break-up— but rather the heartbreak during. My top three remain “stupid song”, “begged”, and “cigarette smoke”, with them being, in my opinion, the strongest lyrically, sonically, and emotionally. However, I will say, some songs felt almost repetitive to me and closely similar to previous work, and there are a few skips. While it doesn’t take my personal win for Album of the Year, she has a few that will surely find their way onto my playlist.