Note: This review is number ten in a series looking back at Taylor Swift’s first 10 albums.
Released on October 21, 2022, “Midnights” became Swift’s tenth studio album.
In some ways similar to the music she produced in the middle of her career, this milestone record definitely falls under her pop umbrella.
While echoes of her old sound remain, Swift also plays with a new techno-pop vibe. “Midnights” consists of more electronic and synthesized sounds than any past albums.
“Midnight Rain,” track six on the album, begins with a technically modified version of Swift’s voice, which is used throughout the song and other tracks, giving the album a unique sound.
The album’s main attraction to casual listeners is the classic, catchy pop songs fans come to expect from Taylor Swift.
Here that is “Anti-Hero,” “Bejeweled,” and “Lavender Haze.” All three songs are upbeat and easy sing alongs, but the real Swifites know that her best work is always hidden in the less popular tracks.
“You’re On Your Own, Kid” stands out as one of Swift’s strongest on the album. One of Swift’s strengths is her ability to write a bridge that captures attention and she does not disappoint with this one:
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
I hosted parties and starved my body
Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss
The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money
My friends from home don’t know what to say
I looked/ around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can’t take away
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets
Take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
You’re on your own, kid
In this one bridge, Swift encapsulates her career, the innocent begging, difficulties being a celebrity, finally seeing how far she’s come, and becoming proud. She also encourages her listeners, even when things are hard and when you are alone, you will be okay.
In the end, Swift circles back to where it all started, as she said during her very first acceptance speech at the 2007 CMA Awards, “The fans, you have changed my life.”
Swift and her fans have grown together over the course of her first ten albums, only for her to take another artistic turn with “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Through her first ten albums, Swift takes her fans on a journey through not only her songs but her entire life. A journey that Swifties hope never stops.
Previous Album “evermore” (2021)