Taylor Swift’s brand-new album Lover is taking the music scene by storm. Swift dropped the 18-track album full of colourful, starry-eyed love songs on August 23, and it has already earned the title of 2019’s top-selling album in the U.S. In its first 48 hours, Lover had the biggest sales week for any album since Swift’s own Reputation sold 1.216 million copies in its first week, according to Billboard. Swift’s ability to tell stories with her music (and collective albums) draws listeners in unparalleled numbers. Lover contains whimsical, uplifting and heartwarming bops about all types of intimate relationships. Need a travel playlist for the ride back to school? Want a dance playlist for frosh week? A few tunes to reminisce about the summer? Lover has it all, and here are 18 reasons why.
- Swift opens with . . .
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. . . the sharp and clever “I Forgot that you Existed.” IFTYE shouts post-revenge feelings of indifference from the rooftop and acts as a strong opener to a more mature album about love compared to anything she has produced in the past.
- On track two, loaded with metaphors and the bittersweet tang . . .
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. . . of summer romance is “Cruel Summer.”
“I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?,” Swift asks repeatedly throughout the song. If you have ever gone through a summer fling, you may know that heart-pounding sentiment all too well (song-pun intended).
- The album’s title track, “Lover”, is more dreamy, romantic and honest . . .
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. . . than any Swift fan could have hoped for. With a bridge that reads like wedding vows, this could be the song to play at such events for years to come.
- Simply titled “The Man,” Swift’s next track . . .
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. . . takes aim at the patriarchy and how she is portrayed in the media compared to her male peers—not that she necessarily has any. One could say this is a more grown-up “Blank Space,” and a definite bop to sing with your pals.
- As Swift fans know, track five . . .
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. . . always has her most emotionally vulnerable tune on it, and with “The Archer,” she hits a bullseye. “The Archer” is angelic and slow, asking tough questions about a tumultuous relationship. A definite heart-clutcher.
- Swift hits the high notes . . .
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. . . in “I Think He Knows.” Although this song may not be on many listener’s radars, it should be. This underrated jam sings the excitement of the reciprocity involved in falling in love. You will definitely want the windows open to allow for fuller dance moves in the car while listening to this.
- Always a fan of metaphors, . . .
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. . . Swift paints a high school scene to illustrate her disillusionment with, as she puts it, “American glory” in Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince. You may have to listen to this one a few times to fully understand what she is trying to say, but rest assured, you will be bobbing your head the whole time.
- “Paper Rings” is . . .
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. . . the song that makes you want to get up, join hands with your nearest friend or lover and just dance. Strong lyricism makes for a cute tune about being madly in love. Maybe this is your year to find that special someone?
- In “Cornelia Street,” Swift runs through the fear . . .
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. . . of losing her love and the heartbreak it would cause. She cleverly bookends the song with references to a place she used to rent on Cornelia St. and the impending memories that would be made there. I think we all have places we may avoid due to melancholic memories shared with a loved one, and Swift adds “Cornelia Street” to the list.
- “Death by a Thousand Cuts” is about a breakup, . . .
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. . . but Swift hasn’t gone through a breakup in several years. Reportedly, track 10 was inspired by the movie Someone Great, an uplifting Netflix rom-com about leaning on your friends during a breakup. However, Swift tackles the more painful side of separating from a loved one, hence the stark name of the song.
- Next up, . . .
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. . . “London Boy” delivers a mouthful of English idioms and the experience of exploring a new city with your new beau. Bop worthy? Probably, but you’ll need to get past the many London landmarks within the song to be able to sing along.
- Swift teased “Soon You’ll Get Better” many months ago . . .
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. . . in the ME! (track 16) music video because this song features the Dixie Chicks. While Swift uses the word ‘feature,’ the Dixie Chicks more accurately backed the track, almost unnoticeably. This is disappointing for many fans who would love to see Swift swing back to her country roots, but with lyrics so transparent and painful, it is probably the first ‘skip track’ on the album for those who want to stay with the lovey and bright themes.
- False God is undoubtedly Lover’s most sensual song . . .
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. . . With lyrics that mimic Reputation’s Dress, False God leaves little to the imagination with a saxophone that tries a bit too hard to be obviously sexy.
- The song that has caused Swift the most controversy, “You Need to Calm Down” . . .
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. . . tackles bullies and bigots. The music video caused a stir when Swift danced and sang with pop culture’s most famous LGBTQ icons. Her second single off the album, not the strongest song, but a fun video to watch when you’re bored.
- In underrated gem “Afterglow,” . . .
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. . . Swift takes the blame for blowing up the problems in her relationship. This track’s lyrics cut like a knife, and Swift takes responsibility possibly more than she ever has in a love song.
- Swift dropped ME! in late April to introduce the new album . . .
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. . . and her new era of bubbly, self-assured confidence. That is about all this song delivers, though; not a song I would play purposely.
- On “It’s Nice to Have a Friend,” Swift sampled a Toronto youth choir, . . .
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. . . and proceeds from the song will help fund their school. This was a really innovated play by Swift, but probably the only good thing in this dull, unambitious tune about—you guessed it—friendship.
- The final track, . . .
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. . . one of the three that Swift wrote solo, “Daylight” is a perfect way to encompass the range of emotions depicted on the album. She ends the track with almost a minute of talking, mostly about what she wants her legacy to be in relation to love. Listeners can picture “Daylight” as Swift singing about the ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ contrasting her darker “Reputation.” With this closing track, Swift shows that she is a powerhouse artist who can learn, grow, adapt and absolutely thrive while doing so.
I wonder what she’ll come up with next?