Hanna, who began releasing music in the late ’80s, took notice. “It’s a fascinating thing to watch these young women, and especially Olivia, because she seems so advanced as a songwriter, expressing themselves in really complex ways,” she said. She was encouraged that Rodrigo spoke about abortion rights on stage at Glastonbury after Roe v. was overturned. Wade, and proudly adapts the “riot grrrl iconography” to his visuals: “It’s great, to see this underground musical style graphically referenced in the mainstream by someone who really loves music.”
Rodrigo says he’s “always loved rock music, and always wanted to find a way to make it feel me, and make it feel feminine and still tell a story and have something to say that’s vulnerable and intimate.” She beamed, her eyes sparkling under light winged makeup, talking about how the artists she admires “use rock music, but they don’t try to recreate a version of rock music that the men.”
His openness about his influences is remarkable considering such frankness comes with risks: Taylor Swift and Paramore may have inspired “Sour,” but after the album’s success, those inspirations suddenly got writing credits on two songs. Asked if he caught Swift’s Eras Tour, Rodrigo was brief: “I haven’t,” he said, quickly adding that he’s been busy. “I’m going to Europe this week.”
In late July, she went to a Tori Amos show with Annie Clark (who recorded as St. Vincent), a heroine-turned-educator. “I’ve never met anyone so young and so effortlessly self-possessed,” Clark said in a phone interview. “Rodrigo knows who he is and what he wants — and he doesn’t seem afraid to say it. And just a really lovely girl too,” she added. “I’ve never heard him say a bad word about anybody.”
RODRIGO’S EX-BEAUS may disagree. Although he doesn’t name them, they’re the subject of both passionate takedowns and gleeful ribbing in “Guts.” Its first single, “Vampire,” is a suite that ranges from ballad to bombast aimed at a man who has abused his trust and fame; on the funky rap-rock banger (yes, really) “Get Him Back!,” he playfully spins the title phrase, seeking both revenge and reconciliation.