I just finished her new album. I was actually quite excited for Taylor's return to pop of sorts being a 12 track album and collab'ing with Max again for the entire album. I thought it was going to be incredible yet I think the only songs I'll be listening to again is 'Elizabeth Taylor' and 'CANCELLED!'. That's quite disappointing. Maybe she's keeping her best efforts for that 13th album. 

 

 

Becoming? She stopped being creative since Midnights 

I'm so sad. I love the first song. Everything else sounds like Midnights rejects. Wi$h Li$t could belong in Midnights with a few more synths thrown in and you wouldn't know the difference. 

It's not a question anymore sadly

She's just been in this tepid phase ever since the godly Folkmore. Wouldn't say bankrupt, there's great moments on TLOAS. But she's big enough to take more risks.

Absolutely. and we should #LockHerUp

Evermore bombing (for her standards) did a number on her and has refused to make a great album since then 

This is her first dud since reputank, let's give her a lil downtime. 

Folklore was her last album I enjoyed. Everything since then just hasn't had that same magic.

I think her peak artistry was Folklore. She needs to take a long break after this album. 

Why is it so hard for her to make another good album? 
 

Noew even TTPD sounds like a masterpiece compared to this…

Creatively, artisticly— she's done

She has been since Midnights. Every single song sounds the same. The melodic structure of her music has become so boring it's actually insane to me that she sells so much and gets such high praise. Truly living proof that white privilege is strong and well because there's absolutely nothing interesting here. No melody sticks out. The lyrics are, per usual, reminiscent of something a 12 year old would write when bored in math class.
 

But her delusional fans will continue to eat her flat ass and feed into her (and their own) delusions of grandeur. It's so obvious she doesn't care at all about making art anymore. It's all about breaking records as easily and quickly as possible, hence why every song is monotonous and every song is 3 minutes or less. She's a billionaire, white, heterosexual capitalist and her music fits the part perfectly. 

Max Martin is washed up 

 

Taylor brought the goods like usual and he gave her stale beats. She needs to work with new talent 

This was her jumping the shark moment tbh. I think releasing so much music in such a short period of time was definitely a mistake. There are so many cringe lyrical moments on here that it's almost impossible to get past them. Midnights was mid. TTPD was a disaster (tho it still had ~10 good songs), this one was just the continuation of the trend. She definitely lost it. The lyrics aren't there, the melodies aren't there and surprising the production isn't there either considering the collaborators. Jack Antonoff could have done the exact same job for much cheaper if she asked him. I'll reserve proper judgement after hearing it a few more times, but for now it's a massive chop. Way way below her peak lyrical abilities. 

What's frustrating to me most about her past three albums is that they all have a lot of potential when they are first announced. They all seem to have amazing concepts and then the albums release and... most of the songs don't have anything to do with the supposed theme of each album?

 

What worked so well with her previous eras is that they truly felt like eras: each of them highlighted a significant stage in Taylor's life and felt like cohesive albums whose songs actually matched what the album is supposed to be about. Now they just feel like surface-level aesthetics.

I tend to agree as someone who really liked Folklore, Evermore and Midnights

6 minutes ago, Vroom Vroom said:

Max Martin is washed up 

 

Taylor brought the goods like usual and he gave her stale beats. She needs to work with new talent 

Max Martin created a great album with Ariana Grande last year. The reason he can't replicate that with Taylor is that he can't write the hooks he does with others because she's very limited in terms of vocal range and only does music and melodies one-note. It's also the reason why Ariana could shine with Max because she has much better vocals. So he's forced to produce the beats and leave the melodies to Taylor and those results is what can be heard on her album. 

Edited October 3, 20251 yr by Doctor Dick

If ATRL hates this album it will certainly be a smash.

No, the album is a Travis-ty of global proportions, but I would be hesitant to label its efforts "creatively bankrupt" 

I disagree. I wouldn't consider myself a fan and I'm pleasantly surprised by this album.

Yes. She has been creatively bankrupt since midnights and it becomes more apparent with every album. This album is at least a SLIGHT step up from her last album which was a disaster. But clearly the producers are not the problem, jack wasn't the problem, this time she had the pop dream team and still failed to match the magic her music used to have, the problem is HER. this album has made that clear imo. She needs to take a long break, at least 4 or 5 years and just live life. Stop making music for the sake of making music and come back with a new album when true inspiration strikes. Cuz something is just off with her output this decade.

Edited October 3, 20251 yr by TeeJay
.

 

Just finished "The Life of a Showgirl." And, I agree. This album feels like if AI made a Taylor Swift album. Or if Ed Sheeran made a Taylor Swift album. Or if AI made an album Ed Sheeran would create for Taylor Swift. There's something very empty and soulless about it, which makes it a little creepy. I won't even go into the lyricism. 

 

...Vin

2 minutes ago, Jotham said:

What's frustrating to me most about her past three albums is that they all have a lot of potential when they are first announced. They all seem to have amazing concepts and then the albums release and... most of the songs don't have anything to do with the supposed theme of each album?

 

What worked so well with her previous eras is that they truly felt like eras: each of them highlighted a significant stage in Taylor's life and felt like cohesive albums whose songs actually matched what the album is supposed to be about. Now they just feel like surface-level aesthetics.

It's just a way of tricking her fans into pre-ordering the album without hearing it first. Midnights concept was a lie, TTPD concept was a lie and this album's sound has nothing to do with its visuals either. It's just a mix of Lover and Midnights sounds, heavily borrowing from their melodies and structures too, but to far diminishing returns. It's ok though, this is her 12th album, she's got more than a handful of good albums in her discography, so the expectations shouldn't be that high anymore. Everyone gets creatively exhausted. I can't name an artist with 10+ good albums tbh. Maybe Madonna if I squint hard enough. 

Yes. She comes up with these great concepts that the music never fits. The last album I throughly enjoyed from her was GODMORE although some days I may say MIDNIGHTS. 

Edited October 3, 20251 yr by NEUTRON