Release Date: October 21st, 2022
Taylor Swift needs no introduction.
Review: Prior to folklore, I considered Taylor Swift to be a quantity artist, as in, she never had that perfect start to finish album, but she was very prolific. I knew she had the most total songs I liked, only behind my favorite band, The National. As much as I adore folklore/evermore, I was ready to move on from that era. Plus, I wanted Aaron to focus on the next The National album.
Knowing this album was produced by Jack Antonoff, and midnights was the theme, I was expecting it to sound like "False God." You know, a sound that felt like you were in another room trying to sleep, while the rest of the house was still trying to party. The overall sound feels murky, buried, subdued, and minimalist. There are a couple of bright spots such as the expensive "Bejeweled" and the untouchable "Karma," but for the most part, there's not a lot of interesting music. Still, Taylor Swift is a storyteller and I feel like her lyricism carried this project.
I was hoping that she would carry over the folklore aesthetic of writing about characters, but she's back being autobiographical here. I never cared about pinpointing who each song were about, but in the past, those specific details felt relatable, but on here, like in the song "Question.." she goes "Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room, and every single one of your friends was making fun of you, but 15 seconds latеr they were clapping too." What the hell does that mean?
The album opens with"Lavender Haze" which is a nothing track. I guess it's fine if you're in love. "Maroon" follows suits, but I like the way she mumbles that chorus of "the burgundy on my t-shirt..." The 3rd track is "Anti-Hero" and it's such a relatable song about one's insecurities. The chorus of "it's me, hi, i'm the problem, it's me" is really funny. Sonically, I really like "Snow on the Beach" and i think it would have fit on evermore. Lana Del Rey is barely audible, but i still liked the song.
I like the way Taylor sings on "You're On Your Own, Kid" and the way the song progresses towards the end. "Midnight Rain" might be my favorite song simply because the lyrics are easy to understand and I could see myself on either side of the equations. Also, the voice alteration at the beginning, I feel like it's a cheap trick, but I love the usage here.
"Question..." was one of my highlights on first listen. It sounds very pleasing and I still like it, I can relate to the general concept of waiting to ask your past lover questions, but part of me is like, "move on dude."
"Vigilante Shit" is a terrible song, until you stop giving a fuck. When she sings "Don't get sad, get even" is that a callback to Blank Space? anyways, I hope someone does a remix of this song because the song itself is very barebones. I feel like it can be fun with the right visual or as part of a TV show.
I feel like "Bejeweled" is this album's "ME" except it's not as annoying. I even like the "Nice" part and the chorus is just expensive. For "Labyrinth" i really love that slow descent into some bottomless pit feeling. the line "uh oh, i'm fallin' in love" just melt me. And there's the vocal change similar to on midnight rain that I just feel like it works here.
"Karma" is fun. That's all I should say. I think most of us think of karma as revenge or what comes around goes around, but nope, karma is all the things that make you happy. I feel like this will be a crowd pleaser, even if the lyrics feel a bit middle schoolish.
"Sweet Nothing" is cute. I didn't much of it other than its a bit playful. "Mastermind" is good.
onto the 3am tracks, All of the aaron dessner produced tracks are amazing. "Bigger Than The Whole Sky" is pretty devastating. I just thought it was a song about losing a loved one, but the internet thinks its about a miscarriage and that only made the song more tragic. "Paris" is good, i like the way the song sort of dissipates instead of hearing the word Paris. and of course, I love that she could rhyme Paris with somewhere else. "Glitch" is meh, and "Dear Reader" has some interesting lines. When she says "never take advice from someone who's falling apart," is she talking about herself?
Summary: So this is album number 10, I'm gonna pick and choose certain songs to listen to over and over while skipping a few. I liked Country Taylor the most and this album felt like a continuation of Reputation and Lover, as if the pandemic never happened. I wish you could hear more instruments instead of just the computerized beat. With that said, Taylor has a way of words that keeps me coming back. I know I'll be coming back, but it's hard to say if it's good or not. It's a interesting choice on how some of these 3am tracks didn't make it on the original 13.
Favorite Songs:
Midnight Rain, Labyrinth, Would've Could've, Should've
Rating: 8/10
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