Taylor Swift released her new album titled Lover on Aug. 23, 2019.
Lover features 18 tracks that are, in Swift’s words, “a celebration of love, in all its complexity, coziness, and chaos.”
In the months leading up to the album’s release, Swift released four singles: “ME!,” “You Need To Calm Down,” “The Archer” and “Lover”. The first two singles are lively and light-hearted pop songs, whereas the latter are more emotional and introspective.
In my opinion, the strongest single was “Lover.”
“Lover” is a tender ballad about a long-lasting relationship, speculated to be about her current relationship with actor Joe Alwyn.
I would actually say that this is one of my favorite songs from the album. Swift’s soft vocals paired with the echoing acoustic instrumentals create a heartwarming experience that we’re bound to hear at weddings for years to come.
It also contains one of my favorite lyrics on the album, which was “I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover.” It stood out to me the first time I listened to it, and it continues to as I listen to it again and again.
“ME!,” a collaboration with Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie, is an endlessly energetic tune about individuality and self-love. After my first listen, I enjoyed it for the most part.
However, I felt a bit confused about halfway through the song when the two-chant “Hey kids, spelling is fun” before continuing on to the bridge. Even though the song was already light-hearted, I thought the line felt a bit juvenile. When the album was released, the line was cut from the song. I felt this was a good choice, as the original lyric was a bit of a distraction from the rest of the song.
Despite this, I think this is a really enjoyable single from Swift. The persistent drum beat in the verses charges the song with a lot of energy. Swift and Urie’s vocals also complement each other very well, and the soaring high notes in the chorus are both catchy and pleasant to listen to.
“You Need To Calm Down,” although similar to Swift’s other songs composition-wise, is a bit out of left field from her.
The lyrics address current topics prominent in today’s culture, specifically online “cancel culture”, homophobia and female empowerment. Considering Swift’s long period of silence on anything political, it’s a bit of a change to see her directly expressing her beliefs in her music.
Although this isn’t a song that will likely end up on my playlist, I do respect the sentiments behind it.
“The Archer” follows the same pattern as Swift’s other five tracks in that it is one of the more emotional tracks on the album. It illustrates her insecurities and fears in forming relationships with others.
This song did not originally appeal to me as much at first.
To me, it felt like the song built up to an emotional climax and rather than letting that climax fade out; it stayed at that emotional peak and didn’t really go anywhere from there. I would have liked to see the song drop back to a level similar to the beginning to create a more satisfying ending.
However, as I listened to the song a bit more, it grew on me. I feel the lyrics are quite well-written and some aspects of the song really speak to me on a personal level.
I also think it is interesting to look at the song as a companion to Swift’s previous album Reputation. In Reputation, Swift embraced her, at the time, bad reputation and in lyrics like “all of my enemies started out friends” and “I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the prey,” she seems to address the conflicts that she detailed previously, but with a sense of self-awareness that was absent at times before.
As for the b-sides of the album, they were all pleasant to listen to, but some of them just did not stand out to me. An example is the ninth track “Cornelia Street”.
“Cornelia Street,” in my opinion, felt a bit overshadowed by other tracks on the album.
Although nothing about the song clashed or felt contrived, it also didn’t have any elements that stood out as seeming particularly brilliant. It was just kind of there.
There were, however, some others that really caught my attention.
The first song that stood out to me was “I Forgot That You Existed,” a mid-tempo song about moving on after a breakup.
The synth in the background builds up in the verse to lead into what one would expect to be an energetic chorus, but the instrumentals are scaled back to showcase Swift’s vocals and she is instead singing over a few punchy bass hits and background vocals. It’s a really pleasant song that’s probably going to be in my playlist for quite a while.
The next is, if not my favorite song on the album, one of my favorites: “Paper Rings.”
There’s just so much I adore about this song. The heavy guitar feels evocative of her older work, which, as a girl who grew up on her first three albums, brings me so much nostalgia. The guitar, along with a strong drumbeat, infuses the rock-influenced song with energy. It’s hard not to get into the beat.
A final standout is “Soon You’ll Get Better,” a collaboration with the Dixie Chicks. The song expresses the pain of her mother’s battle with cancer.
The poignant lyrics coupled with soft acoustic instruments and Swift’s hushed singing give the listener a view of what Swift and her family have suffered through this experience. It’s definitely worth a listen.
Overall, Taylor Swift’s Lover is a rollercoaster of emotions. At times it’s joyful and vibrant, and at others, woeful and introspective.
I think in this way it’s a lot like the concept Swift is writing to express: love.
