Taylor Swift goes dark and electric on her new album ‘Midnights’

“Everything in me changed like midnight”, Taylor Swift confesses midway through her latest album, the aptly named Moody “Midnight’s”. It’s a moment in the electric “Midnight Rain” that finds lyricist Swift at her best, reminding you of her unparalleled ability to make any emotion feel universal.

The song’s chorus begins: “He was sunshine, I was midnight rain.” And he continues: “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain. He wanted a girlfriend, I was making my own name. Chasing that fame. He stayed the same”.

Then that lyric: “Everything about me changed like midnight.” The sound feels experimental for Swift, beginning with his own voice artificially reduced to an almost unrecognizable pitch. It’s among the most interesting sounds on the album, an indie-pop groove reminiscent of producer Jack Antonoff’s work on Lorde’s “Melodrama,” but also fresh and engaging.

The song’s words, from Swift and Antonoff, are steady and detailed, but not distracting, allowing you to sink into the beat, flow and feel it with her.

I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now. ??https://t.co/jjqUNkGSme

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 21, 2022

In all 13 tracks on “Midnights”, a self-aware Swift shows her ability to evolve again. For her 10th original album, the 32-year-old pop star tackles the subjects she grew up writing about (love, loss, childhood, fame) with a maturity that manifests itself in sharp vocals and lyrics focused more on her inner life than in external character.

“Midnight Rain” could be a thesis statement for the project that she describes as songs written during “13 sleepless nights,” an appropriate concept album approach for someone who has always appreciated late-night lyrics (think “ Style”: “midnight, you come looking for me, without headlights…”).

Of course, he has centered his work around earlier themes: on “Red,” an ode to color and the emotions it represents, “reputation,” a vindictive reconfiguration of his own, and more recently on “folklore” and “evermore,”Quarantine albums that expressed vulnerability in a way that only isolation could.

But Swift presents “Midnights” as something different: a collection of songs that don’t necessarily have to go together, but fit together because she’s declared them products of late-night inspiration. Position listeners according to the situation, in the quiet but thoughtful darkness of night, rather than thematically, it feels like a natural creative experiment for a songwriter so prolific that her albums have become synonymous with the spirit of pop culture.

And with that, comes a shade that’s a little bit darker, a little more experimental and always electric.

Track one, “Lavender Haze,” blends a muted club beat and high-pitched backing vocals from Antonoff with a bold, standout melody from Swift. “Maroon” is a grown-up, worn-out version of “Red”, a dive into lost love with rich descriptions of rust, spilled wine, red lipstick: images Swift reconjures most powerfully.

“Labyrinth” makes it clear that it has brought with it the best of its earlier pop experiments: the synth of “1989” and the softer alternative sounds of “folklore”, as it admits, as only a songwriter can, that a heartbreak “just feels that raw.” now, lost in the labyrinth of my mind,” on top of a Bon Iver-esque electronic trill track.

Swift shines when she’s able to marry her trademark lyrical musings with this new arena of electronic beats. And while this isn’t another acoustic indie album that sounds like “folk,” it’s clear that Swift has taken a step forward in the indie-pop genre, even if it’s a step in a different direction.

The album’s weakest moments are the ones where it feels unbalanced. “Bejeweled” is a little too sweet, with lyrics that feel like a bright, updated version of “Me!” The much-anticipated “Snow On The Beach,” with Lana Del Rey, is poetic, beautiful, and occasionally cheeky, but not as emotionally deep as the combined power of the lyricists suggests.

Even in those moments, “Midnights” finds Swift comfortable in her musical skin, revealing the strengths of a sharp, ever-evolving artist who can wink through ever-cryptic allusions to her very public life or subtle ones of her own scattered amidst lyrical confessions (see: “Anti-Hero” and “Mastermind”) and engage even the casual listener with an engaging and perhaps surprising beat.

But just like “Lover” drenched in love, “intimate folklore” and “evermore”, “Midnights” it feels as much like a confessional as it does a playground, created by all the versions of Taylor Swift we know so far. new Taylor Swift to shine. And as always, we are ready for the exciting night ride.

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Source-listindiario.com