Olivia Rodrigo Is Perfecting the Formula on ‘vampire’

The first time I read Olivia Rodrigo’s new one, “vampire,” I obtained a little bit of, very well, déjà vu. The increasing tension in the 2nd verse — when the drums kick in and the piano will become a lot more forceful, like a movie rating foreshadowing a pivotal instant — took me proper again to when Rodrigo and producer Dan Nigro used the exact trick on her 2021 breakout strike, “drivers license.” Now in this article she was, kicking off a further album cycle with yet another piano-led ballad.

But hear shut and you’ll discover “vampire” isn’t just the audio of Rodrigo adhering to a components but perfecting one — a refreshing decision in the deal with of her make-or-break sophomore record, Guts. The instrumentals are crisper and grander, from the lush opening chords to the explosive guitar breakdown ahead of the bridge. And Rodrigo’s lyrics preserve the charming specificity of her Sour tracks while packing far more of a clever punch. “Bloodsucker, fame-fucker / Bleedin’ me dry like a goddamn vampire” is a canny, indelible couplet that need to have pop writers everywhere you go kicking them selves for not wondering of it initially.

On Bitter, Rodrigo’s performing history just felt like an clarification for some of the project’s melodrama. The climaxes, even if cathartic, did not normally feel absolutely gained, like the -to-60 bridge of “drivers license.” But “vampire” is a whole general performance, as Rodrigo builds a remarkable arc across the complete tune. The bridge would even impress her mentor, Taylor Swift, with each and every line sounding a lot more emotionally fatigued than the very last.

Certainly, “vampire” is another break up observe from Rodrigo. And of course, the gossipy facts of who, what, when, and where are once yet again ideal there. (The like triangle that impressed “drivers license” didn’t just propel the one to achievement, it designed it inescapable.) But it is also captivating ample to make people actual-life particulars feel extraneous. No gossip merchandise could be as devastating as the way Rodrigo’s voice reaches, sinks, and trembles as she takes her ex to activity.

When “drivers license” arrived out, it sounded like a deft synthesis of beloved influences — a small Lorde in this article, a minimal Billie Eilish there, a good deal of Swift all over the place, a dash of the 1975 for great evaluate. That development continued throughout Sour, when admirers couldn’t help but listen to Paramore and Avril Lavigne on pop-punk songs like “good 4 u.” The well of inspiration grows on “vampire,” with flashes of Lana Del Rey and Adele and even the Strokes. But more than nearly anything else, “vampire” sounds like an Olivia Rodrigo song, and a great one.