By: David Williams
Score 7.3/10
The last two years have been some of the most fruitful work in Taylor Swift’s 16-year career. She released two highly regarded folk albums and two re-recordings (Taylor’s version) of previous records. Her reputation as one of the best songwriters in pop music today was cemented in Folklore and Evermore.
One could argue this will be the defining part of her legacy, possessing the skills to paint cinematic lyrics in songs. The pop imagery writing and mellow-driven ballads of her 2020 records were tailored for Swift to shine.
For Midnights, the tenth full-length LP from Swift, Taylor worked with super producer Jack Antonoff for essentially the entirety of the record, designing a collaborative experience between the two.
The opening track, “Lavender Haze,” has a 70s pop aesthetic, melodically Swift feels at her best on the album, singing about the scrutiny of her relationships. You can feel her passion behind the words.
“Anti-Hero” will be on every karaoke playlist going forward. The song possesses all the tools to sing with your friends on a night out with light, poppy, glistening synth layers. Its fun and stadium-ready chorus will have everyone in the bar singing with you. The only issue is the line “Sometimes, I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” which should have been workshopped better in the studio. She’sShe’s such a talented songwriter that a better analogy could have been used in this scenario.
The stripped-down love ballad “Snow On The Beach” fits Taylor’s sweater weather motif of her previous two albums. The narration is romantic at its core with a hint of bittersweetness, singing, “Life is emotionally abusive/And time can’t can’t stop me quite like you did.” Lana Del Ray’s feature came with considerable hype, although she ended up lost in the background throughout the track. It would have elevated the song more if she had her own verse.
Photo Courtesy: Beth Garrabrant
On “Bejeweled,” she sounds much more confident and comfortable, especially in the catchy chorus with her playful emphasis on the word shimmer. It’s a pop song that breeds positivity and self-love. It’s easy to imagine someone dancing in the mirror with this on full volume before getting ready to go out. “Sweet Nothing” has a melody that flows really well and sounds like a lullaby that you would sing to your kids before bed. The piano tones and subtle horns match her lyrics about being grateful to build a life together with her partner, making this one of the standouts on Midnights.
Spacey synths and hard-hitting 808s on “Vigilante Shit” sonically sound like something from the world of Billie Eilish, Taylor ventures into new territory with revenge on her mind, but her attitude feels forced and lifeless. This bad girl persona she tries to portray isn’t believable enough for people to think she actually has ill intentions in her mind.
The spacey synth layered closer, “Mastermind,” finished the record strongly with lyrics about her plotting meticulously on ending up with her boyfriend Joe Alwyn: “And now you’re you’re mine/It was all my design/’Cause I’m I’m a mastermind.” She projects self-confidence in an ““I told you so tone”” that she knew all along that they would be together. At times the production of Midnights is a little watered down, like a soda you get at the movie theater. The lyrics are clunky at moments, but for most of the album, Swift delivers on what will be one of the most popular albums of the year.