Taylor Swift’s new album “Midnights” dives into the late AMs when daunting thoughts kept her up. The album takes the genre back to pop, contrasting with “folklore” and “evermore.” There are songs that give listeners a glance into her relationship with Joe Alwyn to her state of mind during different eras of her life. She shows, once again, that she is an artist with range.
Starting the album out strong is “Lavendar Haze;” with a soft, yet upbeat, tune. It takes influence from the phrase’s origin and meaning to correlate it with her own life. Lavender Haze comes from the 1950s slang for being in love. It fits perfectly with her lyrics “The 1950s **** they want from me.” She talks about people’s unrealistic and conservative opinions of what her life should be. The song describes the love that she is finding on her own and how she is taking her time with it. She doesn’t need to be a “one night or a wife,” she wants the relationship to be what feels right.
Being a public figure for the majority of your life has got to be hard. Swift delves into this topic in her song ‘Anti-Hero’ where she sings, “I’m the problem, it’s me.” It gives insight as to how fame has affected her interactions with people. A topic that is talked about in both the song and the music video is body image. Being in the limelight, Swift has dealt with the media making comments about her body and its weight. The song tackled the insecurities she has faced in fame. Another sad song that the album holds is the notorious track five ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid.’ Life can bring people to all sorts of places with different relationships throughout the way this song emphasizes that and has undertones of no one can take care of you but yourself.
There are some upbeat, joyful songs such as ‘Bejeweled.’ The song can provide confidence for the listener. “When I walk in the room / I can still make the whole place shimmer” is part of the chorus of the song, which shows the main point of the whole song. You can be in a relationship with me, but I still can catch others’ eyes, so don’t do anything to mess this up. It’s about knowing your worth while you’re in a relationship with someone.
Of course, this is a Taylor Swift album, so there are songs meant for the inner feminist in all of us. ‘Karma’ and ‘Vigilante ****’ include killer beats and lyrics so you can go and strut your stuff, or set fire to someone who wronged you. These two songs are basically the ‘I Did Something Bad’ of “Midnights.”
Love songs are always a must. Introducing these four songs ‘Sweet Nothing., ‘Labyrinth,’ ‘Mastermind’ and ‘Maroon.’ ‘Sweet Nothing’ was written by Swift and her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. It’s a true love song showing that they don’t need anything but themselves to be in love. The simple moments mean just as much as the highlights of their relationship. Throughout the fame and cameras, they just want to be with each other in the purest form. ‘Labyrinth’ is for all those anxious about love. Someone who has given up on relationships, but finds someone who quickly reverses that choice. “Uh oh / I’m falling in love” is the chorus and it describes someone who would have guessed this would be the last thing happening to them. It isn’t something they wanted at that moment, but they are accepting these feelings as is.
To twist the knife some more, the album has songs about lost love. ‘Maroon’ has a similar intro to ‘King of My Heart’ from Reputation; alas, it is not the same contextually. The color maroon is used in the song to detail lips, but also other things such as a mark on her collarbone and rust between telephones. The song is reminiscent of an old love that ended. ‘Question…?’ is asking an old lover a series of questions regarding the failed love. Through miscommunication and complex situations, the relationship ended and the song is wondering how the other person is feeling about it, wondering if they think about what went wrong.
The only feature on the album is Lana Del Rey on ‘Snow On The Beach.’ It’s a calming song describing an unusual, but loving, relationship. Snow on the beach is used metaphorically to show how weird this pairing is. Del Rey is only used as background vocals instead of getting her own verse. Even so, she adds more depth and emotion to the song than what was already there. Both Swift and Del Rey’s voices match together perfectly in harmony. There is a calming, almost surreal, vibe that the song takes with its slow background music. It is definitely a stand-out on the album.
Overall, the album shows how Swift can change up her album’s aesthetics and how she has maintained excellent songwriting skills. Her midnights have consisted of all sorts of probing ideas, questions, thoughts and insecurities that have led her to create this amazing album. Listeners have now gained insight into Swift’s brain which shows how vulnerability in albums can lead to massive success.