Taylor Swift “Midnights” Album Review

Midnights

Taylor Swift

• • Genre: Pop
  • Date: 21 Oct, 2022
  • Content: cleaned
  • Region: USA
  • Track(s): 14

• ℗ 2022 Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album, “Midnights,” embraces insomnia while painting a brilliant and delicate picture in jewel tones. The songs on Swift’s album, which she describes as “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered through her life” were written in the middle of the night while she was high on her own ideas and a carefully made cocktail.

If “Midnights” were a drink, it would be made with equal parts nostalgia and adolescent love, a dash of melodrama, and a little burn on the finish. “Midnights” continues her dominance of pop music while taking a slight detour from the somber tones on her prior projects “folklore” and “evermore.”

Album Cover Art

With red lipstick adorning her lips and some dark eye-shadow makeup over her eyelids, she stares sullenly at the burning flame sparked by the lighter in her hand. Besides the need for light, quite a few other things to be done with a lighter could easily come to mind at Midnights, along with the random raging thoughts of a sad insomniac.

Tracks and Features

Swift begins the song “Lavender Haze” with the lyrics “Meet me at midnight,” which were influenced by rumors about the singer’s relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn. Swift’s return to pop songwriting is welcome after a pair of introspective albums. The harmonies are smooth and tight, the lyrics are insightful, and the songwriting is smart. On the song, Swift once more worked with Jack Antonoff of Bleachers, which promotes musical continuity.

Dark and minimal, “Maroon” centers on a somber synth and airy percussion that harkens back to “Blank Space.” Swift’s singing creates a picture, with a layered vocal bearing the burden of the song. She shines a light on her own self-doubt in the mid-tempo song “Anti-Hero.” She sings, “I should not be left to my own devices/They come with prices and vices/I end up in crisis.”

On the ethereal mid-tempo ballad “Snow on the Beach,” Lana Del Rey makes an appearance. The song’s synths, jingles, and sparse orchestration give it a wintery feel. To be perfectly honest, when it was revealed earlier this month that Del Rey was working on an album, the majority of fans probably imagined something similar to this song.

A softly throbbing rhythmic beat introduces “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” which gradually develops into an alt-pop soundscape. Lyrically and vocally, it has a deeper shine than Red, but otherwise sounds similar. The song “Midnight Rain” continues the trend of lyrical timing allusions. Taylor Swift provides a wordy verse that transitions into a powerful, melodic chorus while adhering to the less-is-more compositional philosophy.

“Vigilante Shit,” a punchy revenge song with bass that resembles something by Billie Eilish, is one of the album’s greatest moments. Swift says, “Don’t get sad, get even.” “Vigilante Shit” is followed by an anthem of independence called “Bejeweled.” The joyful synth-heavy sound of “Karma” kicks off the song’s ’80s pop sensibility. This song appears to be a reference to Swift’s tenacity in the face of personal challenges during the course of her career. Swift’s vocals and the verbose lines are highlighted in the delicate “Sweet Nothing,” which has a basic keyboard tune in the background.

“Mastermind” serves as the album’s final track; it begins on a synth before developing into a somber electro-pop song.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	Lavender Haze	3:22
2	Maroon	3:38
3	Anti-Hero	3:20
4	Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)	4:16
5	You’re On Your Own, Kid	3:14
6	Midnight Rain	2:54
7	Question…?	3:30
8	Vigilante Shit	2:44
9	Bejeweled	3:14
10	Labyrinth	4:07
11	Karma	3:24
12	Sweet Nothing	3:08
13	Mastermind	3:11
14	Meet me at midnight	0:08

Album Theme

“Midnights” is more of a logical development. Dark storytelling is still present, but distorted synths have mostly taken the place of the folk-inspired background music. The album in general is a triumphant comeback; it is a collection of songs about sincere and intense love, developing romance, and facing and conquering challenges.

Production Credits

Producers on the new record include Jack Antonoff, Jahaan Sweet, Keanu Beats, Sounwave & Taylor Swift.

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