Every line is delivered with more anguish than the last, until she shrugs it all off with a smirk ("God, it's brutal out here"). "Brutal" is a pop-punk banger that pulled me in so deeply, I instantly forgot I had an entire album to review as I hit the repeat button. Thank God I never fully grew out of mine. Ignore the fact that I turn 26 later this month - this song, and likely this entire album, are best served with a heaping helping of teenage angst. Larocca: For the rest of this review I will be identifying as a teen.
How much do I love this song? God, I don't even know where to start. Teenagers just tend to be more honest about them. Questioning your identity, your looks, your reputation, your brain, who you love, where you fit into the world - these are lifelong struggles. To reduce "Brutal" to a teenage-angst banger, however, would be a disservice to the layers at work here. This is a girl who inspired frenzy and devotion with a song called "Drivers License," and in the opening track, she pokes a hole in the circus tent: "I can't even parallel park." So yeah, Rodrigo's not falling for any of it. It also loves to chew her up and spit her out. Rodrigo and Lorde both know how society loves a female wunderkind. "I'm so sick of 17 / Where's my f-ing teenage dream?" is the new "I hate the headlines and the weather / I'm 19 and I'm on fire," delivered this time with a healthy eye-roll. "Brutal" is an ideal example of that power, though she might call it a vice. Indeed, a big reason why Rodrigo's songwriting is so powerful is that she seems hypnotically, almost obsessively, self-aware.
If her feelings are messy, her music should be, too. Rodrigo invites you to dive into "Sour" headfirst, but warns you not to expect a polished pop persona. It often indicates a user profile.Īhlgrim: Not to state the obvious, but opening your debut album with an off-the-cuff declaration ("I want it to be like, messy!") is so perfect - and then to close the song with proof you weren't kidding ("God, I don't even know where to start") is a brilliant full-circle moment. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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