I never really followed Taylor Swift that closely in the past two decades of her extremely well-deserved stardom, but like the average human, I was aware of the top hits. Unblissfully unaware of the album format and not spending as much time listening to music at the time, I somehow managed to miss the release of the recent few albums as well. Since the pandemic and my sudden increase in interest for music, I was aware of a Taylor Swift album cycle for the first time in my life, and figured that I might as well go for it.
Midnights came not long after Taylor Swift's two sister albums folklore and evermore, and sees a bit of a stylistic shift, although it can be argued that folklore and evermore were the outliers. With a decently sized tracklist that very quickly got buffed up by the 3am edition, I usually consider Midnights as the whole twenty song set.
A lot of Taylor Swift's pop sensibilities and songwriting traits persist in this album, much like most of her releases. Although there are a few moments here and there that feel a bit rough on the edge, the record overall is pretty polished and on brand.
Her lyrics and melodies continue to be pretty creative and poetic as she has proved herself to be countless times, and especially since folklore, the subtle shift from more pop-centric catchy hooks to more intricate and beautiful lines is admirable. Of course there are exceptions, like Anti-Hero, which for the most part seems to be marketed as a very pop-friendly song anyways, so the lyrics being a bit simple is excusable ("Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby"? I still don't know what it's supposed to mean), but most of the record is interesting enough.
The instrumentals are mostly pretty simple, which is not unexpected for a Taylor Swift record, but I do enjoy some of the stray ones that have a more colourful soundscape. The brutally empty 808s and beats of Vigilante Shit is made up for with the more full-bodied layers on tracks like Labyrinth and Would've, Could've, Should've. Not every track on this record is to my liking soundwise, but most of them are listenable.
The 3am edition additions are comparatively so much more robust than the standard edition, which is partly why I consider the record as the whole twenty songs (the other reason is the short timespan between the release of both). Compared to the standard tracklist, the seven additional songs have a much higher percentage of songs I enjoy, including my favourite song of the entire twenty. The Great War has a great cadence and atmosphere to it, Paris is a great pop hook with some stellar deliveries, High Infidelity is a intriguingly conflicting confessional track, Would've, Could've, Should've is a surprisingly emotional and gut-wrenching track, and Dear Reader is an unexpectedly introspective piece.
Midnights is a logical evolution of her experienced and varied sound, and it might not be the new best album of her discography, but it is a solid album nonetheless. As her tenth album (twelfth if you count the re-recordings), I think it's quite a commendable display of her refined songwriting ability and another powerful showcase of her chokehold on the pop world. Whether you like it or not, Taylor Swift continues to dominate the music industry, and Midnights is no exception.
Rating: 7/10
The Til Dawn Edition:
