Who is Taylor Swift anyway? This question has been asked anew with every album since she released her debut in 2006 at the age of 17. Each new work seemed a liberation, an emancipation from the image that the media had just re-posted. “Folklore” and “Evermore” seemed two steps from being the biggest pop star on the planet towards “serious,” deep-rooted songwriting. She sought inspiration outside of the pop bubble, working with The National’s Aaron Dessner and proving to be a precise observer of her inner and outer world. Where does the next step take you? Is she getting more extravagant – like Joni Mitchell? More ethereal – like Stevie Nicks? Who is Taylor Swift now?
The first few bars of “Midnights” lead you in the direction of R&B pop at first, and remind you a bit of The Weeknd. It also makes sense that an album that tells of “13 sleepless nights” begins on the dance floor. Producer Sounwave, who was on Lover and often works with Kendrick Lamar, co-wrote it. The most important partner here and on the entire album, however, is Jack Antonoff, who develops a sound with Taylor that sounds like a mixture of synth pop and mood music and – as improbable as it sounds – “reputation” and “folklore”. Yes, this midnight mood, when exhilaration gradually gives way to melancholy, defines the album. And it really is an album in the old-fashioned sense. The magic becomes apparent as you listen.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any highlights. For example, “Maroon,” which tells the story of the night Swift met her partner Joe Alwyn, is highly romantic, but at the same time has the oppressive feel of “In The Air Tonight” playing in the background. Written with Lana Del Rey and Antonoff (the latter of whom is also Del Rey’s preferred co-writer/producer), “Snow On The Beach” blends Del Rey’s dark California romanticism with Swift’s pop sensibility. In “Vigilate Shit,” Swift performs the “Reputation” avenging angel in Billie Eilish’s bedroom, intricate “Labyrinth” features dubstep bass and trap beats, and Swift’s processed voice oscillates between angelic highs and gender-bending lows.
“Karma,” the album’s big, catchy pop song, feels almost a bit hidden in the last third, then follows with the stripped-down ballad “Sweet Nothing,” which Swift co-wrote with Alwyn, which actually resembles a Court And Spark Joni- Mitchell moment and you are totally addicted to this album. And now you’re mine,” Swift sings in the final song. “It was all my design/ ‘Cause I’m a mastermind.” We never doubted that. (republic)
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