"Midnights" by Taylor Swift Review
Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album “Midnights” came out on October 21st, and like everyone, we have many thoughts. She announced it on August 28th at the VMAs during an acceptance speech, and it was heavily anticipated.
“Lavender Haze”
This song is the perfect opener for the album. When Taylor said “meet me at midnight” as the first line, everything fell into place. The airy vocals are so pretty. This track is the “I Think He Knows” of the album with its upbeat mood and sweet lyrics. 8.7/10
2. “Maroon”
Shaming people for their horrible wine, Taylor? Shaking my head. During this song, she references many different colors as maroon like burgundy and scarlett. Please choose a color! 8/10
3. “Anti-Hero”
Yes, I am the problem. “Anti-Hero” would have been the perfect lead single because it's pop-y, catchy, and still extremely personal. At first, the sexy baby line was questionable, but we’ve learned to love it. This song is proof of how channeling your emotions into art can be so beautiful, and it’s one of the best songs she has ever written because of this. 8.5/10
4. “Snow on the Beach (ft. Lana Del Rey)”
In this song, Taylor kind of acts like a little kid finally being able to curse (and we love her for it). Lana’s just happy to be there, holding the mic and breathing in the background. It’s sweet, and it encapsulates the feeling of falling into something that you don’t know how to feel about it. 8.5/10
5. “You're on Your Own, Kid”
At first, this song was a little too depressing, but when we really listened to the lyrics, we realized that this tells the story of Taylor’s life. The bridge was fantastic and definitely made the song live up to the “track 5 standard” that has been set for past albums. It is reminiscent of her last nine studio albums, almost as a full circle moment. 9/10
6. “Midnight Rain”
The distortion is a new thing that Taylor hasn’t done before, and it was a bit questionable at first, but she executes it very well. Such a good song with amazing production, as always, an interesting storyline. 8.8/10
7. “Question…?”
The intro channels “Out of the Woods”, but the chorus is all “Midnights.” It’s a chill, less rhymey chorus that’s refreshing compared to the overly rhyming choruses on the album (“Karma.” “Anti-Hero.”) 7.5/10
8.“Vigilante Shit”
“Vigilante Shit” blew all of our expectations out of the park with the introduction, becoming what we all thought “Karma” was going to be. The production on this song is the best out of the album, with the deep bass and dark beat tying the whole theme together. 9.5/10
9. “Bejeweled”
This song encapsulates the feeling of putting yourself first for your mental health, and it has an upbeat, confident vibe. Basically “Mirrorball” with an ego boost. 9.3/10
10. “Labyrinth”
The vocals in this song are her best by far in the album, with her voice being so airy and peaceful. The lyricism is also incredible with amazing metaphors like “I thought the plane was going down, how’d you turn it right around?” 9.9/10
11. “Karma”
This song reminds all of us that everything that goes around comes around. “Karma” is an up-beat, pump-up, empowering song. Not what us Swifties expected, but the song is still so much fun. 8/10
12. “Sweet Nothing”
Such a sweet song, a heartfelt ballad about her significant other (also co-written by him!). A pretty neutral song but has so much meaning behind it. It’s a side of Taylor that we don't usually see, which is always a nice thing. 7.5/10
13. “Mastermind”
This song sounds so futuristic. It is the perfect song to angry cry to and then shake it off to! The pre-chorus is the best one on the album because it’s such an adrenaline rush. Taylor literally is a mastermind for creating this amazing song. She truly is “scheming like a criminal”! 11/10
Taylor explored some new things in this album, which were a refreshing change from both “Folklore” and “Evermore”’s quite depressing tone. Once again, her lyricism has stunned us all, and she remains breaking records every other day.