Midnights

taylor swift. the woman, the myth, the legend. despite controversy, wild critical failures (and successes), and an ever-evolving persona, taylor has maintained her status as arguably the queen of pop for hipster gays and sad teenagers, whether we like it or not.

midnights is taylors 10th (12th?) album and sees her abandon the sonic field she curated with her folk-pop tinged albums folklore and evermore. both received acclaim (as im sure you know) and marked a sort of return to form for swift, moving away from the electropop sound developed on reputation and lover. this probably seems like compulsive ranting from someone who cant get enough of taylor, but i promise this is important.

midnights takes the confessional lyrics from swifts early works and meshes it with the murky electronics of reputation, with an extra dash of the campy lyrics and underlying sense of mischief of lover. throughout the record this style really does seem to fit swift like a glove, but stumbles from jack antonoffs production and swifts habit to lose the delicate balance of camp and cringe stops midnights from being the flawless body of work both swift and her fans were expecting.

lavender haze opens the album strong, taylor tells a story of fame and love, and how she hurts as the two intertwine. its an infinitely interesting song, if a bit redundant lyrically, and i find it so easy to lose yourself in the waves the synths drown you in. maroon is in the same vein, brooding synths and sad lyrics that can hit you in the feels at the right time. it fails to captivate me as much as lavender haze, though. possibly because of the weaker hook, or some safer production, but still not a bad track. anti-hero, as many people know, is the song getting single treatment, or this albums equivalent. while its certainly not bad, its easily the worst song on the album. it somehow feels overproduced, despite a minimal instrumental. the lyrics range from boring to downright annoying and while the additional keys in the chorus are cute, the track is just so muddled and lacks the humanity weve come to expect from swift. on a much more positive note, snow on the beach starts a streak spanning the rest of the album. to start, snow on the beach is breathtaking both by itself and in context of the album. by itself, its a track that echoes through your mind and really feels like a red deep cut, the same emotional pangs and relaxed pop vibe. this is only assisted by lana del reys stunning background vocals. all of that combines into a slight shift in vibe that alone makes the progression of the album so much more intriguing. youre on your own kid is similar in style and vibe, but this time succeeds at separating itself from the previous track. note, i love the distorted guitar, or thats what i think it is, after the chorus. the album really starts to pick up at midnight rain the undeniable highlight of the album. the catchy vocal loop in the chorus is genuinely so infectious i cant stop listening. this is for sure a top 10 taylor track, in my eyes at least. question... is another fast paced track thats hard not to bop your head to. vigilante shit is very reputation esque, and im still not sure how i feel about it. the hook is catchy but as a song it really just fizzles out and doesnt go anywhere. bejewled and karma pad the emotion laden labyrinth, and serve as good palette cleanser because god damn, labyrinth hits you where it hurts. something about it is so full of mourning and grief that i have a hard time letting go of it. another top 10 tayor track for me. sweet nothing and mastermind are contemplative and peaceful, a good way to end the album. they work best in tandem and i think theyre both growers for me.

midnights is not flawless, but i do admire this album, and i think taylor obviously put enough work into it to make it a formidable piece of her discography. that said, if you dont already like taylor, you probably wont like this album. its very much a love letter to her fans and her career. not for everyone, but arguably still worth a listen for anyone who loves pop music and everything about it.

ps judging based off the early reactions to this album i know this opinion probably isnt the most popular but i really wanna hear more abt how people feel so please argue with me in the comments pretty please lmao