Long gone are the days of sparkly dresses and glittery guitars for Taylor Swift. In August of this year Swift announced her very first pop album (yes, apparently Red didn’t count) titled 1989. If you didn’t see Swift’s country-to-pop-princess transformation coming, you must have been living under a rock for the last few years and her last several album releases. From Fearless’s pop-country crossover “You Belong With Me” in 2008, to the 2012 dubstep anthem “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Swift slowly transitioned away from country and into the pop-ring. 1989 is the final step in her transformation, and the first in a brand new Taylor Swift.
A dramatic departure from her original album, 1989 is a mix of dance and electropop set to Swift’s trademark lyric style. Faithful to her roots, Swift continues to employ heartbreak as well as personal growth into her songwriting. Unlike her pop/dubstep tracks in previous albums, 1989 pays homage to its title year with an 80’s throwback sound. Tracks like “Out of the Woods” and “New Romantics” use their driving beats to evoke Flashdance vibes, while the soft and echoey “Wildest Dream” is reminiscent of early 90’s lyrical pop ballads.
While the album is preloaded with chart toppers like “Shake it Off” and the firery “Bad Blood,” several of the other songs fall victim to similar sounds and over flowy synthesizers. “Welcome to New York” ’s repetitive and generic lyrics leave the listener wanting more, while love songs like “All You Had to Do Was Stay” and “How to Get the Girl” don’t stand out amongst her collection. It’s not that Swift didn’t transition into pop smoothly and with some success, but her attempt to break into mainstream with an already mainstream brand was unnecessary. While hardcore fans, admittedly like myself, will still dance in their rooms to their favorite ballads, 1989 is far from Swift’s best work.
Overall grade: B
Best tracks:“Bad Blood” and “Wildest Dream”
Photo credit: 1