Olivia Rodrigo: You sound so sad for a girl in love – who are you singing about? Who cares when the songs are this good? Olivia Rodrigo

WWith a certain overwhelming inevitability, the arrival of Olivia Rodrigo’s third album was accompanied by a lot of deciphering its lyrics in search of references to Louis Partridge, the British actor whose relationship with the singer ended late last year. A magazine published a 1,200-word article, complete with captions, analyzing her songs for nuggets of gossip: the fourth piece she’s published on the subject in recent months. A British newspaper published a news story about the fact that Rodrigo had apparently changed the lyrics of a song called Purple, which was previously a “very sweet and sugary” love song, to reflect the end of their relationship. In New Delhi, the Hindustan Times was weighing in on rumors that the couple were already back together: “Interest in Partridge has increased after Rodrigo released her new album because fans believe ‘Stupid Song’ refers to the singer’s relationship with him.”

Well, of course it has: for better or worse, this kind of speculation seems to have become a major part of modern pop music, and Oliva Rodrigo in particular has been a long-time beneficiary of the publicity it brings. The hit single Driver’s License gained popularity thanks to rumors that its lyrics were about her ex-boyfriend Joshua Bassett’s dalliance with Sabrina Carpenter. “Vampire,” the lead single from Guts’ 2023 EP, has sparked further speculation about whether its subject is another ex or Taylor Swift. And she seems to encourage it strongly: “I never talk about my personal life in interviews or in any public forum, so I think music is where people go to figure things out,” she recently told an interviewer, a line that seems to contain a clear implication about it: “Come on, fill your shoes.”

Under the circumstances, it’s perhaps worth noting that the true identity of the subject matter of “You Look So Sad for a Girl in Love” — a song cycle that follows a relationship from the first blushes of romance to some bitter recriminations after a breakup — is perhaps the least interesting thing about it. Analyzing the songs for clues seems irrelevant: it’s a great pop album whatever its subject matter.

It represents a distinct, confident pivot away from the Guts sound – Only My Way, in which an ex-girlfriend displeases Rodrigo by refusing to intrude, leans towards the joyously gritty pop-punk of its predecessor – replacing it with an ’80s new wave in which you can detect various hints of the B-52s, New Order and Devo.

The Cure’s influence is evident: a bold move, given the bewildered expressions of the young fans in the front row when Robert Smith took to the stage during their Glastonbury concert. Smith appears again here, singing with Rodrigo on “What’s Wrong with Me?” – his always turbulent voice blends well with hers – but his presence is felt everywhere, from the lyrical reference to “Just Like Heaven” on opener Drop Dead, to a song literally called The Cure (Rodrigo insisted that the title has nothing to do with the band, but the typeface in the song’s video sounds remarkably like a late ’80s logo), to Maggots for Brains and U + Me = <3, which - with its edges it's very clear that the bass lines and breezy acoustic guitars are an homage Loving Smith and his bandmates in pop mode.

Most importantly, from the show-like melody of “Stupid Song” to the poignant emotional shift of “Purple” — which begins with love and gradually grows more anxious — the songs are uniformly well written. The melodies grip, the gorgeous choruses arrive in abundance, and, moreover, the lyrics are more nuanced and profound than the recriminations that made Rodrigo famous.

The moment when you realize the relationship is doomed but stubbornly refuses to act on it is depicted with a turbulent relationship on Begged; Less depicts said relationship in slow but inexorable decline, filled with wince-inducing memories: “We tried to recreate our favorite date, but we didn’t laugh as much this time.” She’s also exceptionally funny, especially when you leave her after a breakup. “I met him at a party, I think he was on drugs / He wasn’t smart or funny, I convinced myself he was,” Expectations opens, before adding another surprisingly prickly detail: “He had a nice apartment and a car his parents bought.”

It’s an intelligent, intelligent, complex and sometimes painful listen. It’s also an audible step up from Rodrigo’s previous work. The artist, who first came to attention when he was 17 and whose debut album was promoted through a concert film designed to look like a high school prom, has always had to grow up in public, which is a difficult thing to do: the world is full of pop stars frozen in the collective imagination upon their arrival. But you sound too sad for a girl, so So in Love suggests the artist is maturing with admirable ease: nothing about it feels forced or uncomfortable. One suspects that Olivia Rodrigo is in this for the long haul: she’ll be around long after the gossip becomes yesterday’s news.