My expectations for Taylor Swift‘s seventh album, Lover, were low. Her previous album, Reputation, was disappointing, with its defensive lyrical stance and dark textures. The first two songs released from Lover were both concerning – lead single ‘Me!’ seemed designed to appeal to the 4-7 year old female demographic with its technicolour over-spill, Brendon Urie’s scarily enthusiastic vocals, and “hey kids, spelling is fun” interjection. Like much of Reputation, second single ‘You Need To Calm Down’ was overly focused on putting a message across, making the music secondary. There was also the possibility that Swift’s creative well had run dry – still in her twenties, she’s been a major commercial force since debuting with Taylor Swift in 2006.
Despite all of these red flags, Lover is a strong record – most of the record consists of mature and nuanced synth-pop, perfect for the audience that’s grown up with Swift. After the claustrophobia of Reputation, Lover is refreshingly joyful and breezy. Swift has characterised Lover as a “love letter to love”. The album purposefully opens with ‘I Forgot You Existed’, a statement of purpose, ignoring detractors and focusing on the positive.
At 18 tracks, Lover would be stronger pared down to a dozen songs, but the best tracks are as good as anything Swift has released. On the title track, Swift delivers a soulful torch song, different than anything she’s released before, but playing to her strengths with its typically excellent lyrics: “Swear to be over-dramatic and true to my lover.”
The dominant style on Lover is mature synth-pop, not unlike Carly Rae Jepsen’s recent albums, often created in collaboration with Jack Antonoff. ‘False God’ is buried towards the end of a long album, but it features some of Swift’s best lyrics, applying a series of religious metaphors to a relationship.
I know heaven’s a thing
Taylor Swift, False God
I go there when you touch me, honey
Hell is when I fight with you
But we can patch it up good
Make confessions and we’re begging for forgiveness
Got the wine for you
Alongside the predominance of mature synth-pop, Swift’s trying different things – the upbeat ‘Paper Rings’ has a peppy Motown feel, while she takes on politics with ‘Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince’ and the great line “You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.” More surprisingly, Swift revisits country, playing with the Dixie Chicks on ‘Soon You’ll Get Better’, a low-key song about her mother’s battle with cancer.
While the choice to release the worst songs on Lover as the first two singles was an unusual ploy, Lover is a strong comeback from Swift. It presents a more mature version of Swift, helping to cement her position as one of popular music’s most accomplished song-writers.
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Claustrophobic is a good description of Reputation.
I think she focused too much on content and not enough on the music – plus she’s much better at positive than at petulant.
I agree with you on both Reputation being a bummer and Lover being a comeback! Well done.
I think most Swift fans would go with that, right? Reputation was almost like a first mis-step in her career, even though it’s got some good songs like ‘Getaway Car’.
I won’t lie. I don’t think I could pick out a Taylor Swift song if I heard it. Tell me honestly. Is it worth the effort?
Yes, the musical production is excellent, though the quality of the music itself may not be as high or satisfactory, especially when one listens to the music itself without the imagery of the video.
It depends what you like. I think her main strength is that she’s a very good lyricist. Absolutely not an innovator at all. Writes nice tunes that are easy to digest. Has a tendency to release artistically crass first singles that undersell her talent. The song ‘All Too Well’ is usually singles out as her best and might be a good one to check out.
Soon You’ll Get Better is probably the one I can relate to the most…more of a traditional sound. I have heard some bad singles from her…these are better.
She has a tendency to release calculated sounding singles that don’t show her on her best light.
that games/prizes line is a good one!
She’s good to putting specific details into lyrics without it sounding awkward – like leaving the Christmas lights up til January or three summers.
I remember liking the nightmare/daydream line from blank space!