Review: Taylor Swift Returns to Pop With a Conflicting ‘Midnights’

After detouring with her acclaimed 2020 albums folklore and evermore and her first couple of re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift has returned to the pop stratosphere with Midnights. The result is an album that brings about conflict. There is no doubt Swift’s new album is good, but each new listen brings out a list of things to like and elements to critique.

Taylor Swift collaborated with Jack Antonoff on ‘Midnights’

Jack Antonoff is Swift’s primary collaborator on Midnights. Antonoff is a long-time collaborator of Swift’s, and the two previously worked on Swift’s albums 1989, Reputation, Lover, folklore, and evermore together.

The producer’s fingerprint is noticeable throughout Midnights. A synth-pop triumph, it’s sleek, clean, and cohesive throughout. Given how harmonious Swift and Antonoff are together as artists, there is an unspoken comfort throughout the tracklist like no other Swift record.

The pitfall of this comfort comes at the hands of Midnights – 3am Edition, released just hours after the standard album. Of the seven bonus tracks on this edition, Aaron Dessner, Swift’s other collaborator from folklore and evermore, co-wrote and co-produced three songs.

Comparison is the thief of joy, and the standard edition of Midnights was easier to enjoy before the bonus tracks were revealed. Without assigning the success of Swift’s talent and prowess to that of male producers, especially because Midnights has multiple co-writers and co-producers, Dessner’s surprise involvement does bring about observations.

If Antonoff is a fun and safe collaborator for Swift, that harmony also produces repetitiveness and playing it safe. There is nothing overtly wrong with Midnights; it’s good. But compared to past Swift albums, none of the songs have the profound impact one would expect.

That is, except for “The Great War” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” from Midnights – 3am Edition. Both songs were co-written and co-produced by Swift and Dessner and hint that this collaborative partnership might push Swift more creatively.

‘Midnights’ feels like a late night

A concept album of the night, even the loudest songs from Midnights are subdued in nature. It’s best listened to driving home late a night but wide awake, abuzz yet melancholic, in the perfect mood to undergo some self-reflection.

Given that it’s a concept album, Midnights does not come across as a universal pop album to be listened to at any time of day, though its strongest lovers will surely not have a problem with that.

Songs like “Lavender Haze,” “Anti-Hero,” and “Karma” are the obvious hits of the record. “Vigilante S***” feels primed to become a tour favorite, especially if it receives a special tour arrangement like “I Knew You Were Trouble” from The 1989 World Tour and “I Did Something Bad” from The Reputation Stadium Tour.

While Swift’s vocals are her strongest to date on Midnights, at some points her enunciation falls a bit and becomes buried in some songs’ production, requiring multiple listens to accurately pick up on the lyrics

A look at Taylor Swift’s lyrics on the album

With someone as influential and talented as Swift, it’s hard not to incorporate her past work when critiquing something new. The singer-songwriter is known for one-upping herself in some way with each release, and it’s clear that each previous release of hers from her discography led her to Midnights.

Three of her recent albums, folklore, evermore, and Red (Taylor’s Version) contain some of her best lyrics, giving Midnights multiple tough acts to follow.

On Midnights, Swift’s lyrics are best described as conversational, like one trying to make a point, but it also happens to be late at night past everyone’s bedtime. Because of this, Midnights contains some of Swift’s most profound lyrics and what might be viewed as her most questionable.

Perhaps the best example is the album’s lead single “Anti-Hero,” which has both “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror” and “Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby/ And I’m a monster on the hill” in the same song.

Anyone who has stayed up past midnight in a late-night discussion with their best friend has probably experienced the same type of emotional whiplash. It doesn’t quite make sense, but you also understand it immediately.

While this juxtaposition makes sense creatively, the occasional lyric on Midnights might be enough to take a listener out of the song, if ever so briefly.

Closing thoughts on ‘Midnights’

Overall, Midnights is a solid return to the pop genre for Swift. It is not the singer’s best work, and not without its faults. However, the album’s concept and lyrics showcase Swift’s vocal maturity, and tracks like “Anti-Hero,” “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” and “Labyrinth” put her vulnerability on full display.

Unfortunately, the seven songs on Midnights – 3am Edition are some of Swift’s best work, with multiple surpassing the caliber of the standard version.

This makes Midnights as a whole feel like a missed opportunity and an unfulfilled listen, keeping the album from achieving greatness.

Midnights tracklist:

1. “Lavender Haze”
2. “Maroon”
3. “Anti-Hero”
4. “Snow on the Beach (Featuring Lana Del Rey)”
5. “You’re on Your Own, Kid”
6. “Midnight Rain”
7. “Question…?”
8. “Vigilante S***”
9. “Bejeweled”
10. “Labyrinth”
11. “Karma”
12. “Sweet Nothing”
13. “Mastermind”