Taylor Swift – “Midnights” Review: a call-back to the past hints future greatness

Swift’s tenth album – featuring synth-pop anthems galore – shows strength in the acceptance of love and loss (4 stars)

It is said that from the greatest defeats, come the greatest rewards. While the average human encounters various struggles, be it grief or depression, they will eventually emerge from the ashes a stronger force.

Three years ago, country-turned-pop sensation Taylor Swift appeared to have encountered a milestone such as this herself. The loss of rights to her first six albums due to a mass catalogue sell by record executive Scooter Braun for $300m led to the rerecording of both Fearless and Red so far. After listening to Swift’s latest release Midnights, it’s clear to see that the singer’s reflection on her past work has paid off.

Swift is in the process of rerecording four out of her first six albums (Photo credit: Raphael Lovaski via Unsplash)

While her penultimate album Evermore was comprised of folk ballads and haunting piano melodies, Midnights changes the tone with a glittery, 80s-inspired synth pop sound. Opening number Lavender Haze serves as a perfect example of this sudden switch-up. A darker tone, complete with gospel-style vocal echoes reminisces over Swift’s tumultuous connection with the press over the years, and the impact of misogyny on the singer’s failed relationships.

Other highlights of the album include lead single Anti-Hero, which pairs a conversational dialogue from Swift to the listener surrounding the artist’s insecurities with a 21st century twist on the synth-wave format.

Snow on the Beach, a collaboration with indie-pop titan Lana Del Rey, is shrouded in an ethereal acoustic quality in contrast, similar to that of her 2020 magnum opus Folklore, although more vocal input on Del Rey’s side would have made the track more satisfying.

The middle half of the album can seem stale when listening to the album in full – more pop-like features such as Bejeweled and Question…? bleed into one eventually – however if Swift’s past defeats have led to her most experimental album yet, the rewards can be sure to follow with time.