The most fascinating thing about Taylor Swift’s newest album, “Lover,” is the way she totally overcomes the expectations set up by both her previous record and some of the singles leading up to it.
“Lover” sees Swift returning to her previously established two-years-between-albums pattern, coming not that long after her “Reputation,” a record which I felt was not very good.
A major disappointment after “1989,” one of the finest pop records of recent memory, “Reputation” was bogged down in by a lack of a consistent sound, thanks in large part to the competing creative direction of producers Jack Antonoff and Max Martin. The record had some songs that were absolute bombs, representing some of the lowest points of Swift’s career.
Then, in the months leading up to “Lover,” Swift released some troubling singles from the record. “You Need to Calm Down,” the second single, is a wonderfully catchy song with some incredible production on Swift’s vocals, but it’s fraught with the incredibly uncomfortable implication that Swift understands the plight of LGBTQ people because Kanye West was mean to her once.
“ME!,” the album’s first single, is uncontroversial by comparison, but commits perhaps an even greater sin of just being a not very good song. Yes, that’s a technical term. The sing is absolutely jam-packed with as much cheese as Swift and Brendon Urie could’ve mustered, and if it were a competition, Swift would’ve won with her cloying “Hey kids, spelling is fun” exclamation — which, thankfully, was deleted on the album itself.
So, heading into “Lover,” my expectations were fairly low, despite enjoying the singles released later into the promotion cycle.
Thankfully, my expectations were totally smashed. With the only major exceptions being the hiccups of lead singles, “Lover” represents some of the best work Swift has ever recorded.
What makes “Lover” stand out among her previous efforts is the album’s complex emotions. Swift no longer seems okay with writing songs as simplistic as “boyfriend good, ex-boyfriend bad,” and instead tackles some of the complexities of love. For the first time, she also attempts to tackle the intricacies of America’s political field but, as illustrated above with “You Need to Calm Down,” she has some more varying degrees of success there.
The album opens up with the simple-yet-catchy “I Forgot That You Existed,” a refreshingly bright take on the breakup song genre, where Swift deftly illustrates the ways in which pain after a breakup eventually subsides: “It wasn’t love, it wasn’t hate/ It’s just indifference.” For an artist who often gets very publicly hung up on having been mistreated, it’s nice to see this transition in her work.
Shortly after, Swift sees herself taking up the mantle of country music for the first time in a while on the album’s title track. But this is a sort of country that Swift hasn’t dabbled in before: eschewing her previous sprightly country sound, she instead strikes a more somber note, finding herself somehow squarely in between the sounds of Dolly Parton and Kacey Musgraves.
To put it simply, I would be totally fine if Swift put out an entire album that sounded like the song “Lover.” It’s slow; it’s sweet; it’s achingly beautiful. It feels like the kind of song that Swift has always been capable of making, but for some reason hadn’t done it. Dreamy and slow, “Lover” benefits much from equally dreamy production: Swift’s breathy vocals float along in a haze, recalling the album cover itself.
Thankfully, Swift continues this more down-to-earth, emotional tone through several tracks on the record, especially on songs like “The Archer” and “Soon You’ll Get Better,” the latter of which could perhaps be the most stirring song Swift has ever written. Featuring the Dixie Chicks, it’s a vocally focused track, with Swift singing with obvious pain in her voice about overcoming past problems. But her message is a positive one: get better, because you have to.
The inclusion of the Dixie Chicks, of course, feels like a political decision. For those who might not remember, the Dixie Chicks were effectively stricken from the record of country music after being critical of President George W. Bush. Seen as not patriotic enough, they were left by the wayside. Swift’s decision to include them seems to coincide with her recent attempts to be more vocally political, with Swift’s own condemnations of President Donald Trump coming in the wake of the record’s release.
But when Swift isn’t reflecting somberly, “Lover” is all about fun. Songs like “Paper Rings” and “London Boy” are so lovey-dovey, but they never come across as cloying. Sure, their lyrics are over the top (“London Boy, I fancy you,” Swift croons on that track), but it’s all just really sweet, making it hard to criticize Swift for being open about her feelings.
The album’s only major downsides, as I said, were the album’s two lead singles. The fact that they come in pretty quick succession in the album’s final quarter, though, does slow down the record’s otherwise impeccable momentum. However, she does manage to get it back together to close the record, with standout tracks “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” and “Daylight.”
“Lover,” on the whole, is a thoroughly impressive record, seeing Swift’s songwriting at its strongest. It’s a triumphant return to form after the mess that was “Reputation,” and it paves the way for a compelling future in her career.
