Songwriter Taylor Swift released her anticipated tenth studio album, Midnights on Oct. 21. Following her 2020 releases of Folklore and Evermore, most fans expected the new record to be a calm, subtle, acoustic tone but Swift had taken a different approach towards Midnights. Swift used variations of music styles from her past albums in this new record to represent changes in her life. She detailed these thirteen tracks in her album as “13 sleepless nights scattered throughout her life.”
The total track count of the entire album including Midnights (3am Edition) was 20 songs long but there were many songs that didn’t fit the expectations the fans were held to.
Swift released the song title, “Snow On The Beach” featuring Lana Del Rey a week prior to the official release which excited many fans. Unfortunately, this song was filled with disappointment, as Lana Del Rey did not have a single verse and was instead the background voice of Swift’s song. People were expecting to hear more of Lana Del Rey’s voice as when Swift collaborates with other artists, they have their own verses.
The opening track on the record, titled “Lavender Haze,” started off the album with an upbeat tone. This was unexpected, as it didn’t correlate with her recent tranquil albums. The song, as well as later tracks “Question…?” and “Bejeweled,” had a similar joyful tone as her past pop studio albums, Lover and 1989.
“Anti-Hero”, another uplifting and upbeat song, made many displeased with the choice of lyrics, such as “I am a monster on the hill, too big to hang out.” These words provided no meaning and ruined the flow of the song.
“Vigilante S–t” had the same music style as Swift’s 2017 album, Reputation. It was very similar to the song “…Ready For It?” This song, however, lacked a chorus, causing the track to be dull and basic. It had potential, but Swift didn’t put her best effort into the song. This track also did not flow well with the other songs as most were upbeat and this one created a dry tone.
Using a variation of her signature color, Swift’s second track, “Maroon,” was extremely similar to her song “Red” from her discography. Its similarities include the association of a color with specific memories of her significant other from the past, the references to New York City, and the repetition of the lines “it was maroon” from “Maroon” and “loving him was red” from “Red.” This song was one of the best ones in the album as it had a stronger meaning between the lyrics and had a strong chorus.
Three hours after the release of Midnights, Swift revealed seven bonus tracks in her album labeled Midnights (3am Edition). These new additions provided more insight to her life and brought the album to a close.
One of the seven extra songs, “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” reveals the singer writing about the loss of a loved one. Swift repeats in the chorus “Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye,” signifying that a member in her life had left this world. Furthermore, this expressed the album’s significance of her life as this is one of her most personal albums. Another one of the bonus tracks, “The Great War,” referred to overcoming conflicts such as “war” during her life.
The album came to a close with the final track, “Mastermind.” This song was executed perfectly and overall represented the significance of the entire album, proving that she had control in her life. With the lyrics “’Cause I’m a mastermind, and now you’re mine,” this song represented the power Swift always held and the power she wanted to represent in all of these tracks.
The overall rating of Midnights on a scale out of 10 would be a 6. There were many songs that were enjoyable and had exceptional lyrics, especially in the bonus tracks, but some songs seemed repetitive through the beat and it didn’t flow with the entire record, particularly the first few songs of the album. However, Swift is entering a new era of music, and she is trying to bring back her pop music era phase and start a new chapter of songwriting.
