Over the past decade, Taylor Swift has produced a plethora of hit-singles and record-breaking albums. However, her most recent record, Lover, is being recognized as her most mature album to date. Why? Because it shows growth like no other album of hers has done before politically, socially and romantically.
Throughout her career, Swift has made her claim to fame through raw and real songs about heartbreak, changing her sound and production with each album to keep her fans on their toes. From wearing cowboy boots to sequined crop-tops, an entire generation has grown up with her music, and in-turn watched her grow up, as well.
Swift, known for her fairytale romanticized accounts of love, breaks past these preconceived assumptions in Lover, giving listeners not only more mature accounts of love but also addresses various socio-political issues. Swift has recently voiced her opinion on various issues, such as LGBT rights and feminism, in both interviews and her music. In the September issue of Vogue, Swift states, “Rights are being stripped from basically everyone who isn’t a straight white cisgender male.”
She furthers these politically-charged perspectives through her new album in her songs “You Need to Calm Down,” “The Man” and “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.” In her single “You Need to Calm Down,” Swift praises members of the LGBT community and shuts down haters that would “rather be in the dark age.” In “The Man,” Swift addresses what her life would be like if she were a male in the industry, pondering whether or not she’d “get there quicker” if she was a man. Finally, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” is speculated to be about Swift’s decision to become more politically vocal and the scrutiny that she and others face when they choose to voice their opinion on American politics.
Swift truly breaks out of her shell in this album going places that she’s never been before, and fearlessly making her thoughts known.