Rating: 3/5 Falcons

When Taylor Swift was asked who her role model is in an interview in April, she chose Paul McCartney. “I like it when a performer knows [what fans want] and will give that to their fans,” she explained to Billboard. The next day, she went on to release her most generic song to date, titled “ME! (feat. Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco)”. 

Despite the title, the song does not contain a single personal detail or flourish. Instead, Swift only talks about “cool chicks” and “lame guys,” and, of course, “me” and “you”. As soon as “ME!” was released, one thing became clear about Swift’s forthcoming album: she was going to cater to what her fans and the public wanted. 

Fans were not interested in her experimentation with trap music and darker themes as seen on her previous album, reputation. They wanted to see the bright and bubbly American sweetheart— Taylor. Is that what we got in Lover? Well, kind of.

The album kicks off with “I Forgot That You Existed,” a playful, poppy tune speculated to be about how she’s over her feud with Kanye West. Next comes “Cruel Summer,” a refreshing and dynamic soon-to-be hit, co-written and produced by pop mastermind Jack Antonoff. Shortly after “Cruel Summer” comes another glowing banger entitled “The Man.” Despite missing the mark with the message of condemning sexism, “The Man” could not have been produced more perfectly. From the bouncy, pulsating bass to the skittery percussion and 80s style operatic harmonies, the song captures exactly what pop music should sound like in 2019. 

In between “Cruel Summer” and “The Man,” two pop smashes, comes the delicate and sincere “Lover.” While the song shines on its own, it feels a bit out of place in the midst of an album that feels very sonically different. The same is true for the gut-wrenching “Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks),” a song speculated to be about Swift’s mother’s cancer diagnosis, which comes directly after the flamboyantly idiotic “London Boy.” 

There is something to be said, however, about how well Swift knows that her audience consists mostly of teenage girls. Throughout the album, she appeals to topics that are relevant to them like her references to high school rumors and ripped prom dresses on “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.” This gives the album a fun, lighthearted feel. At its best, this playfulness is endearing, like on the country-rock love song, “Paper Rings,” but at its worst, it comes off as corny, and even downright patronizing, with the most glaring examples being “ME!” and “London Boy.” 

The fun dies down on the last leg of the album, where many of the songs seem to have only been added to boost streaming numbers. The album is 18 tracks long, her longest album to date. If songs like the utterly forgettable “Afterglow,” and the odd “It’s Nice To Have a Friend” were cut from the final body of work, the album might just have been Swift’s best work to date. 

Still, there’s a confident, fun air that holds it all together. Swift has spent her career morphing and changing with the production of each album. It seems that she has come into her own as an artist, finally realizing that being herself is more than enough.

This piece also appears in our September 2019 print edition.