Midnights / Taylor Swift / October 21, 2022
- Joshua Yoo
- Oct 30, 2022
- 2 min read
Shedding the layers of indie-folk songwriting as many expected to happen soon enough, Taylor Swift was poised to return to her signature brand of pop, but this time with continued growth and maturity as an artist (and person) that would fundamentally differentiate her sound from her past pop records. And ‘Midnights’ certainly adheres to this difference, but perhaps not for all the right reasons, as the album falls short on some of the most dependable parts of Taylor’s artistry.
‘Midnights’ at its core comprises mostly of just Taylor and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, leading to a consistent production style and sound traceable throughout the entire album. It’s somewhat of a strength at times, leading to some beautiful and enveloping moments on the album such as the breath of fresh air on “Snow On The Beach”, or the feel of a sleepless night on “Lavender Haze”. But more prominently, this sound also proves as a greater weakness, as the soft and hazy atmosphere placed over the record often leads to washed out and distant vocal performances (“Karma”), or droning instrumentals that at times lack conviction (“Maroon”). The moments that do break this atmosphere sometimes falter as well, whether it be the awkward attempt at a cutthroat anthem on “Vigilante Shit”, or the stiff synth-pop pushed into “Bejeweled”.
The songwriting prowess that at this point is synonymous with Taylor Swift struggles to surface on this album as well. Underneath a handful of questionable one-liners and underwritten choruses, there seems to be a simplifying of both lyricism and themes to match the musical scope of the album, but in the process ‘Midnights’ loses a lot of her storytelling and emotional complexity. The instrumentals only do so much to justify this trade-off.
Even for its shortcomings though, ‘Midnights’ still contains its fair share of sticky hooks and charming lyrical passages. It just doesn’t maintain the consistency that she is more than capable of.
Highlight(s): Anti-Hero, Sweet Nothing, Lavender Haze, Snow On The Beach
Lowlight(s): Maroon, Vigilante Shit, Bejeweled, Midnight Rain
SCORE: 5/10
Comments