The breakout popstar Olivia Rodrigo has returned with ‘Vampire,’ a new song from her upcoming record Guts, accompanied by a Petra Collins-directed music video. As reported by Pitchfork, this is her first release since her Grammy-winning debut Sour in 2021, the song is already receiving rave reviews from critics, and fans are saying it was worth the wait. 

While Rodrigo’s music has always been pointed with the angst of teenage breakups and late-2000s pop punk, ‘Vampire’ sees her shouting over a banging rock instrumental in its latter half, as she sings about a ‘bloodsucker’ with which she had a parasitic relationship, this titular vampire exploiting her for her fame and giving nothing but hurt in return. 

Rodrigo discussed this shift in sound with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I think I listened to a lot of heavier stuff growing up, and that’s what I’ve always been drawn to. But I think in my regular day-to-day life, I don’t get to express those feelings of rage and dirty shit and messing shit up,” she said. “And I think, in music, you have the freedom to express feelings that you don’t get to express in your everyday life. And so I think maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to this, because I don’t get to be messy every day in daily life and work.”

The former star of High School Musical: the Musical: the Series has received much acclaim since she made her debut as a pop icon with ‘Drivers License,’ receiving praise from notable stars such as Jack White and performing alongside Alanis Morissette and Billy Joel. She announced her sophomore album Guts on June 26 of this year, with the release set for September 8.

Listen to ‘Vampire’ by Olivia Rodrigo below.