Midnights by Taylor Swift, which indeed came out at midnight on October 21, has been such a knock out of the park within the music industry. I don’t even think Taylor Swift herself knew how much of an effect this new pop album would have on those who have listened to it.
This being Swift’s tenth studio album, there was a lot of speculation and theories within the Swiftie community about how it was going to sound, what underlying meanings and easter eggs would be included, and much more. As one of those listeners, I too was skeptical to see if she would be able to pull it off, and of course she did.
Apart from that, let’s get to the actual review of the music!
Being someone who doesn’t always enjoy every song included on an album, regardless of the artist, this album was no different for me. There are definitely songs on Midnights that didn’t quite strike my interest as much as others do, and that was due to either the way it flowed or the way it was. For example, the songs, “Snow on the Beach”, “You’re On Your Own Kid”, and “Bejeweled” (except for the chorus), were the songs that I didn’t find myself wanting to listen to over and over until I got sick of it.
But on the other hand, there are songs on the album that I relate to and enjoy so much that I’ve been listening to them on repeat whenever I can, and those songs are, “Lavender Haze”, “Vigilante Shit”, and “Midnight Rain.” With these songs I personally feel like they hit the mark on both the production and sound quality, along with the lyrics, and meaning behind the lyrics.
While one individual song can’t fully encompass the entire album's sound and theme, it’s really what all of the songs sound like together that can give the audience a real peek at where the artist wants to take them while listening. With that being said, I think that the theme of the album as a whole, would be a combination of: revenge anthems, nostalgia, loss and most of all, gaining confidence.
As this review comes to a close, I want to leave readers with my overall opinion and impressions of the album. At first listen, I deemed that most of the songs were basic, and sounded like something I’ve heard before. But, that opinion changed for a select few of the songs when I looked beyond the surface level, and really looked at the songs, along with their lyrics from a different perspective. When I really listened, that’s when I could understand the full meaning behind the songs, and the potential effects they could have on other listeners that have different life experiences than I do.
So, all in all, I would give this album a solid 4 out of 5! With the release of this album, I would also like to add that Taylor Swift has reasserted herself as a musical mastermind, and she indeed is the music industry.
