Reviews

Taylor Swift “Midnights” (The Til Dawn Edition) Album Review

Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)

Taylor Swift

  • Genre: Pop
  • Date: 26 May, 2023
  • Content: explicit
  • Region: NGA
  • Track(s): 23
  • ℗ 2023 Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift has launched a new deluxe version of her 10th album, ‘Midnights (Til Dawn Edition),’ which includes an Ice Spice remix of ‘Karma’ and a re-recorded version of ‘Snow On The Beach’ with “more” Lana Del Rey. The enhanced edition was released at midnight today (May 26). In addition to the Ice Spice and Lana Del Rey songs, the digital edition includes ‘Hits Different,’ which was previously only available on the Target version of the album.

Album Cover Art

Taylor Swift &Quot;Midnights&Quot; (The Til Dawn Edition) Album Review, Yours Truly, Reviews, April 24, 2024

She looks sullenly at the blazing flame ignited by the lighter in her grip while wearing crimson lipstick on her lips and black eye makeup on her eyelids. Along with the demand for light, quite a few additional activities that can be performed with a lighter can quickly enter an unhappy insomniac’s imagination at midnight.

Tracks and Features

It finally dawns on Swift that her love has been a lie, and she tells us all about it on the previously released track, “Hits Different.” In the song, she narrates a breakup experience that got under her skin and had her losing her shit, caving into her sad emotions, and tearing up in a bar, which never happens. The mere thought of her ex-lover with someone new makes her want to retch. That intense. She sings that moving on from breakups has never truly been much of a biggie, but not with this lover she seems stuck on.

Toward the end of the track, she spirals into her sad thoughts again, wondering what changed in the man that used to believe so much in her. Damn. She also sings about turning down invitations as a ripple effect. Regardless, she still has an opening for her estranged lover and wishes he would return. And as always, Taylor’s strings blended with some drums and other melodious Pop synths go hand-in-glove with the song’s message. Even if this isn’t an authentic experience, you will struggle to believe it isn’t because of Taylor’s emotional delivery.

The sultry singing sensation Lana Del Rey gets more time on this extended version of “Snow On The Beach” after Swift received backlash from fans when the original version came out for not allowing Rey a verse on the song. For this song, both singers sound like they drank from the same music fountain, with how in tune they are with each other’s contribution. As they sing about a “weird but fucking beautiful” love, their dreamy vocals carry the emotions and mushy vibe needed for the record to be complete.

The chill beat does well for both artists, and the extra time given to Lana came out nice as she owned her signature delivery and did not make the fans regret canvassing for more of her. They also talk about intimacy between couples in a pretty subtle and harmless manner. Swift must have given Lana the heads-up about keeping the raw in check. Great songwriting too.

And to the highly anticipated “Karma” remix with the Drill heartthrob Ice Spice. Swift personifies the concept of karma. To her, karma is a bestie, a comforting thought, sweet like honey, a loving cat purring in her lap. A boyfriend, even. That’s karma to her because her vibe and energy have been spotless, so she doesn’t have to expect retribution from the universe. In contrast, karma is a brutal, devouring force lying in wait to make her ex-lover pay for all his wrongdoings and generally for anyone who has burned everyone around them to get ahead.

Ice, on her part, entered a sword fight with an AK-47. No shade to Taylor, but Spice damn-near stole her thunder on this track. Hearing her vocals over a beat that isn’t Drill is beautiful. Bringing the bars, she joins Swift to buttress her karmic point. Both artists complement entirely and musically diffuse into each other.

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 The Great War 4:00
15 Bigger Than The Whole Sky 3:38
16 Paris 3:16
17 High Infidelity 3:51
18 Glitch 2:28
19 Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve 4:20
20 Dear Reader 3:45
21 Hits Different 3:54
22 Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey) 3:49
23 Karma (feat. Ice Spice) 3:21

Album Theme

A more logical progression would be the “Midnights” deluxe edition. The entire album is a triumphant comeback, a compilation of songs about creating a romantic relationship, experiencing true and intense love, and overcoming obstacles.

Production Credits

Aaron Dessner, Braxton Cook, Jack Antonoff, Jahaan Sweet, Keanu Beats, Sounwave & Taylor Swift produced the album.

Stream

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