Elizabeth Goldman
Editor-in-Chief
Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album, “Midnights,” considerably satisfied fans upon its release on Oct. 21.
“Midnights,” a concept album that aims to tell the stories of 13 sleepless nights that shaped Swift’s career, is a beautiful masterpiece with a perfect balance of incomparably catchy songs and devastatingly relatable lyrics. While aspects of the album are reminiscent of past albums, it easily stands alone as a highly unique, independent entity.
This is Swift’s tenth original studio album, written and produced by Swift and her longtime collaborator, Jack Antonoff. As a synth-pop album, “Midnights” strays from Swift’s past two albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore,” both alternative-folk albums, but it contains similar elements to the three pop albums prior, “1989,” “Reputation,” and “Lover.”
Within the first week of its release, tracks from “Midnights” occupied the entirety of Billboard’s Hot 100’s Top 10, making Swift the only artist to accomplish this and marking the first time Billboard’s Top 10 has been solely occupied by female-written songs. The current number one track is the third track on the album, “Anti-Hero,” with 59.7 million streams.
Closely following the release, Swift debuted creative music videos for the songs “Anti-Hero” and “Bejeweled,” with heart-shattering storyline implicated throughout her lyrics. The complexity and rawness of the piece “Anti-Hero” self-explains its designation as Swift’s lead single in “Midnights.”
Multiple tracks in “Midnights” closely resemble Swift’s past songs, but its artistic execution flawlessly embeds this album into Swift’s discography while maintaining its originality. Between the addictive, upbeat and sassy songs such as “Bejeweled” and “Question..?,” there are moments of tranquility in heart-felt songs such as “Sweet Nothing,” ”Labyrinth,” and “Bigger than the Whole Sky.”
“Midnights,” as an album, is centered around five themes: self-loathing, fantasizing about revenge, wondering what could have been, falling in love, and falling apart. The exemplary lyricism, particularly when it comes to Swift’s bridges in songs such as “Mastermind” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” flawlessly and impactfully conveys these themes, elevating her lyricism in depth and emotion from her previous pop albums, which were already impeccable.
Swift’s gorgeous vocals play a significant role in setting this album apart from all others. Leaning into her stunning lower register more than older albums as well as varying her tone between strong belting and beautiful, soft high notes, Swift clearly demonstrates her voice’s capabilities, further enhancing the album’s perfection.
To compare “Midnights” to any other album, Swift or not, would be grossly understating the brilliance and originality of Swift’s most recent release. Swift once again proves to be a once-in-a-lifetime pioneer in the music industry with this outstanding masterpiece of an album. The release of this reflective album is accompanied by the announcement of Swift’s impending stadium tour, “The Eras Tour,” scheduled to take place from April through August 2023.
The original album contains 13 songs, but Swift surprise-released seven extra songs at 3 a.m. EST on release day, dubbing the extended album “Midnights (3am Edition).” All 20 songs fit together brilliantly, forming a complete narrative through individual stories and themes told in a diaristic style.
“Midnights,” released on Oct. 21, is available to stream on all platforms and is available on vinyl and CD on taylorswift.com or at Target and Walmart.
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