Taylor Swift - Midnights ALBUM REVIEW
If it’s not blocked in your country, I reacted to this album live on my YouTube channel. Click here to watch it.
Okay, let me start off with this. I don’t have to do an intro to Taylor Swift. Whether you like her or not, she’s one of the most recognizable names on the planet. Hell, a testament to this is that this album, Midnights, is set to be the first album in six years to sell over a million copies in its first week. The last time this happened was Swift again. In an age where it’s tough to reach half of a million, it’s really impressive. But I’m not here to talk about sales, I’m here to talk about the music. During the height of the pandemic, she dropped two indie-inspired albums, folklore and evermore. Both of these albums, especially folklore, opened my eyes on how good she was at writing these relatively complex stories into her songs when she teams up with The National. I was blown away by it and, for lack of a better term, I realized I was a Swiftie. Now, in the middle of the re-recording era, we have the first batch of new material since 2020, Midnights. Let’s get into it.
I figured going into this review that I’d be more conflicted on this project, especially since there’s a good division on the reception of this out of what I’ve seen. While I’m disappointed that this isn’t another album like folklore, this really isn’t as bad as I’ve seen people say. People also dog on Jack Antonoff’s production, and while he’s certainly done better work in the past, he’s done much worse too (looking at you, Solar Power). At best, the production just seems a tiny bit outdated and feels more at home on Swift’s Lover. I also think Swift’s lyrics are… fine on this. Nothing truly stands out here like I want it to, but maybe the “sexy baby” line does in a more negative way. What really disappointed me the most was “Snow on the Beach,” which features Lana del Rey. I should probably say that it barely features Lana del Rey because I barely found her on this track. The song itself is fine, but I was just hoping for a full collaboration between the two, and it just was very underwhelming.
While I mostly enjoyed Midnights, I couldn’t help but be just a little bit frustrated with it. Yes, I think pop-era Taylor is fun and the re-recordings are pretty fun, especially the good from-the-vault tracks, but nothing on Midnights had that punch that I’ve been expecting from Taylor Swift’s recent output. Midnights is good fun, but it could’ve been much more.
7/10
Listen here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube
Midnights is a Republic Records release.
Okay, let me start off with this. I don’t have to do an intro to Taylor Swift. Whether you like her or not, she’s one of the most recognizable names on the planet. Hell, a testament to this is that this album, Midnights, is set to be the first album in six years to sell over a million copies in its first week. The last time this happened was Swift again. In an age where it’s tough to reach half of a million, it’s really impressive. But I’m not here to talk about sales, I’m here to talk about the music. During the height of the pandemic, she dropped two indie-inspired albums, folklore and evermore. Both of these albums, especially folklore, opened my eyes on how good she was at writing these relatively complex stories into her songs when she teams up with The National. I was blown away by it and, for lack of a better term, I realized I was a Swiftie. Now, in the middle of the re-recording era, we have the first batch of new material since 2020, Midnights. Let’s get into it.
I figured going into this review that I’d be more conflicted on this project, especially since there’s a good division on the reception of this out of what I’ve seen. While I’m disappointed that this isn’t another album like folklore, this really isn’t as bad as I’ve seen people say. People also dog on Jack Antonoff’s production, and while he’s certainly done better work in the past, he’s done much worse too (looking at you, Solar Power). At best, the production just seems a tiny bit outdated and feels more at home on Swift’s Lover. I also think Swift’s lyrics are… fine on this. Nothing truly stands out here like I want it to, but maybe the “sexy baby” line does in a more negative way. What really disappointed me the most was “Snow on the Beach,” which features Lana del Rey. I should probably say that it barely features Lana del Rey because I barely found her on this track. The song itself is fine, but I was just hoping for a full collaboration between the two, and it just was very underwhelming.
While I mostly enjoyed Midnights, I couldn’t help but be just a little bit frustrated with it. Yes, I think pop-era Taylor is fun and the re-recordings are pretty fun, especially the good from-the-vault tracks, but nothing on Midnights had that punch that I’ve been expecting from Taylor Swift’s recent output. Midnights is good fun, but it could’ve been much more.
7/10
Listen here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube
Midnights is a Republic Records release.
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