reviewsbynixx

[reviewsbynixx]

Midnights: A Track by Track Review (by a non-Swiftie)

Taylor Swift has been a seemingly omnipresent force in the music world since I was literally five years old. Her 16 year career has resulted in her being a rare breed of musician, straddling the line between the old tabloid driven celebrity culture of the 2010s, and the slightly more relatability obsessed culture of the 2020s. To me, Taylor Swift has perfected what it means to be a superstar in the modern era. Despite this, I have never been a particularly massive fan of her albums. I can respect her talent as a songwriter and acknowledge that her albums are not for me as I rarely love more than 60-70% of the songs on each LP the way that I see others do (the exception to this rule being Folklore, although again, it still has three or four songs that I am iffy about). With all this in mind, I decided that the first post on this blog should be a review of her latest record smashing album, Midnights, and I hope this provides a blind, outside perspective on her music. 

Lavender Haze

As an R&B fan, when I first saw frequent Kehlani collaborator Jahaan Sweet on the list of song credits, I was more than intrigued, and safe to say they did not disappoint. The song reminds me of I Think He Knows from Lover, from the production to Swift’s delivery and use of head voice. Thematically the lyrics are not anything Swift hasn’t written about before, but Lavender Haze is more polished and mature in its execution. Production wise this is probably my favourite song on the album.  9/10. 

Maroon

This song has grown on me immensely since the first time I heard it. It is a great deep cut that acts as the perfect follow up from Lavender Haze and precursor to Anti-Hero and just works as an album track. The delivery of ‘your roommate's cheap ass screw top rosé’ is just perfect. Not much else to say about this one, if you get it you get it, if you don’t I feel bad for you. 7.5/10

Anti-Hero 

I would consider this to be one of her best singles ever and possibly one of my favourite songs of hers ever. The introspective track features Swift pondering recurring themes in her work such as her struggle with celebrity and the fear of abandonment because of it. The bridge is so tongue in cheek in a way that Swift has perfected, and I think the song itself perfects the blend of personable and serious, soul baring storytelling (meaning you can also tell it was written by a millennial, but a very talented one). I know there’s been a lot of discourse about the sexy baby line, but since I heard it, its meaning has always been pretty obvious to me, even before I was told it was a 30 Rock reference, and I personally love it. Who hasn’t been a monster on the hill? 10/10

Snow On the Beach 

I have to confess I don’t particularly care for this one. I also do not understand Taylor’s female collaborations just being Taylor and a female artist on backing vocals and/or ad libs. I think Nothing New is the only female collaboration of hers where I have heard another woman sing what would be a normal amount for a collaboration and I would actually really love for someone to explain it to me because it just confuses me a little, maybe there’s a reason? This is all building up to me saying I wish we got a proper Taylor Swift and Maren Morris collab! Back to the song, it is beautiful, I love the verses, but it isn’t a song I would actively come back to in isolation although I wouldn’t skip it when listening to the album. 6/10

You’re On Your Own, Kid

I LOVE the pre-chorus and bridge - I’m a sucker for a pre chorus that changes lyrically as the song goes on and the production builds. The song feels super nostalgic, almost like coming home to a small town, and reminds me of ‘tis the damn season, one of my favourite songs from Evermore. I cannot wait to see the end of year coming of age movie edits on twitter that use this song in the background. 7/10

Midnight Rain

Initially I wasn’t completely sold on this one but the more I listen to it the more I realise that there are elements of it that I really appreciate. It’s not the most musically daring but the vocal distortion used here (and on Lavender Haze) is probably one of the more experimental things Swift has done in a while, and I think it pays off. I wish there was some kind of final chorus instead of an instrumental outro because its use here does make the song feel somewhat unfinished to me and it's short enough that more could be added, give me a Midnight Rain final chorus you cowards! 7/10

Question…?

Relistening to this for this review has made me realise just how much I love this song. 

I love when artists sample/interpolate their own work because, why wouldn’t you? Especially if you've written a song like Out of the Woods. I think the subject of the song, hoping someone you were once close to still thinks about you and your relationship, is something done so frequently due to its universality but I love the way Swift approaches it here. Side note: we need more songs written in the second person. ONE DRINK. AFTER. ANOTHER. FUCKIN. POLITICS AND GENDER ROLES AND YOU’RE NOT SURE AND I DON’T KNOW! Just so good. 9/10

Vigilante Shit

Not listening to that. It’s just corny, I’m sorryyyyyy. It sounds like something that did not make the cut on Reputation and I already have my issues with some of the songs that did. 2/10?

Bejeweled 

I will say my opinion on this song has most definitely been swayed by its popularity on Tiktok because I did NOT like it when I first listened to the album but I admit, the chorus is super catchy. 5/10

Labyrinth

I won’t lie, I forgot this song was even on the album because I did not care for it on first listen and this is probably only my third or fourth time hearing it. Similarly to Snow on the Beach, I don’t hate it, I just think it's slightly boring but still beautiful. Nice outro.  6/10

Karma

I love this, I don’t even care. The melody is so fun and Swift’s triumphant yet peaceful delivery makes you believe that Karma is her cat/boyfriend/acrobat/god breezing through her hair and purring in her lap. The brightness of the production gives the song a youthful quality but the matter of fact way she sings the statements in the chorus breathe an air of maturity into the song - there is no uncertainty, she is so well acquainted with Karma that she knows she does not need to stress. I’m envious. 8/10

Sweet Nothing

Just so sweet. I love the faint horns used and the way the song paints this feeling of internal domestic bliss shielded from the bustling outside world. I’m just too soft for all of it :( 7/10

Mastermind

She’s kind of crazy (positive). This is another song I don’t particularly care for but I think it bookends the album in a nice way, and the themes of restlessness and questioning that are present lyrically here (and throughout the album) are well reflected in the production and tempo.6.5/10

Overall Score: 6.9

Standout Tracks: Lavender Haze, Question…?, Anti-Hero

I feel like this is somewhat appropriate for my experience with the album. I’m not sure where I’d rank it but it is definitely up there. To me anything above a 6 is an enjoyable album. I’m not reviewing 20 songs at once, but maybe at a later date I’ll talk about the 3am tracks, one of which is definitely one of my favourite and in my opinion one of her best songs ever. 

Thanks for getting through this lofty review. What’s your top 3 on the album? What should the next single be?  I think I might like Taylor Swift a lot actually.