Calling all Swifties! It’s time to discuss the highly-anticipated album, Midnights. It’s been almost two years since Taylor Swift’s last studio release, evermore, and it’s safe to say that I was freaking out when Taylor announced she had a whole new set of songs for fans to listen to. However, it pains me to say that this album was pretty disappointing.
The album was released on Friday, October 21st at 12 am. Taylor then announced that she would have her “3am edition” coming out shortly after (at 3 am, of course). This 3am edition is simply a deluxe version of the original album as it contains seven more tracks for fans to indulge in.
After a deep listen, I found the album to be a mixture of her older works, with a lot of connections to Red, Lover, 1989 and Reputation. Midnights was produced and co-written by industry giant, Jack Antonoff. As a fan of Antonoff’s work, I’ve kept up with the previous tracks that he’s produced and written for artists like Lana Del Rey, Clairo, Sia and more. However, it feels as if he’s just recycled his old works for Swift’s newest release. The most evident connections come from the singer, Lorde’s 2017 album, Melodrama. I was ready for a whole new sound and era to come from Taylor, but it looks like we aren’t getting that anytime soon.
The album’s fourth track “Snow On The Beach” promised a solid feature with “Born to Die” singer Lana Del Rey. This song featured Lana’s breaths and whispers instead of her usual whimsical lyrics and melodies, leaving listeners feeling robbed of a verse from the talented singer that was falsely advertised. It looks as if Lana was on the beach while Taylor was recording.
As a self-proclaimed music critic, I find albums get better with each listen. After the first run-through, there were some songs that caught my attention such as, “Snow On The Beach” (even though Lana didn’t get a verse), “Bigger Than The Whole Sky”, “High Infidelity” and “Karma”.
Overall, I give this album a 5/10. I was looking forward to something different from the award-winning artist, but I was left with nothing except old songs being branded as new.
Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album may be a miss for many, but there are many songs gaining traction in the media. Tracks like “Karma”, “Bejeweled” and “Lavender Haze” have become viral TikTok sounds since its release. Whether you are like me and need time to get to know an album or are already a die-hard fan, we all can agree that there is at least one song that speaks to you in some way.
References
Thompson, S., Touros, C., Willison, M. H., Fathima, H., & Reedy, J. (2022, October 26). Taylor Swift stays up late for the introspective ‘midnights’. NPR. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/10/13/1128915052/taylor-swift-stays-up-late-for-the-introspective-midnights#:~:text=Midnights%20is%20the%20latest%20album%20from%20Taylor%20Swift.,-Republic%20Records&text=Republic%20Records-,Taylor%20Swift’s%20tenth%20studio%20album%2C%20Midnights%2C%20once%20again%20reshapes%20her,palette%20of%20buzzy%20electro%2Dpop.