Before we start: I just want to say that I am not a Taylor Swift fan, so I am obviously very new to her music. Am I even qualified to review an album like this as a Kanye, Kendrick Lamar, and Frank Ocean fan? Probably not. But, this time around I decided to give Taylor a listen, here are my thoughts:

Artist: Taylor Swift

Album: Midnights

Release Date: October 21st, 2022

13 Tracks, 44 Minutes

Album Cover: The colors are cool. I would have liked a different picture though. The 3AM Deluxe cover would have been my choice (7/10).

Lavender Haze: I actually like this song. She sings well on this one. The instrumental is great too. It feels a little too generic-industry-pop for me though. Saying “go viral” (and then repeating it?) in a song takes off points, no matter who it is (8/10).

Maroon: Sounds like every single Taylor Swift slow song ever. The thing I liked about Lavender was that it had its own little style (at least within Taylor’s catalog) (7/10).

Anti-Hero: I really don’t like her voice on this one. When it first comes on, I think of a Swiss yodeler, for some reason. The song writing is strong though (7/10).

Snow On The Beach: It’s a fun song. I really like the instrumentals. It’s a fun idea too. This one is good. Lana Del Rey is good in this too (7/10).

You’re On Your Own, Kid: It’s a pretty boring song. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just unoriginal within Taylor’s music and outside music too. Instrumentals/Production shines through again though (6/10).

Midnight Rain: It’s a mess. It’s so different from the peaceful, organized theme of the album itself. Whatever the weird instrument that is going up and down is messing with my head and it’s making it hard to enjoy the song (5/10).

Question…?: I think Taylor has seemed to find a pattern with her last few albums. “Whatever worked with the last few albums will work.” It’s also similar to the other songs on this album that are also similar to other songs that she had. Not a bad song though (7/10).

Vigilante Sh*t: Is this song supposed to scare me? Is it supposed to make me upset or something? There’s always one of these songs on her albums. Bad Blood was a good Taylor Swift anger song. This song is not (4/10).

Bejeweled: Quick, cram as many words you can into a line! Not a bad song though. Just not much to say. Sounds like all the other songs (7/10).

Labyrinth: I really wish I didn’t have to say “Sounds like other songs with similar themes from Taylor’s songs” again, but it does. Some of these songs feel so unoriginal, which is unfortunate because she has some good ideas (6/10).

Karma: THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I SAY THAT TAYLOR SWIFT HAS GREAT IDEAS AND MAKE SONGS THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE ANYTHING ELSE! This song is actually great. Maybe my favorite on the album? (8/10)

Sweet Nothing: Eh, it’s ok. I’m happy that it is somewhat original, but I don’t really like it. I think someone would do better on the same instrumental (6/10).

Mastermind: I think Taylor realized that she needed original music at the end of the album. This is a somewhat original song. The unfortunate part is that when her voice goes way low, it’s not that good. Fine track to end on though (7/10).

Final Thoughts: I really didn’t want to like this album. As I said earlier, I am a huge rap fan. Going into this, I thought I was not going to like this album. I had looked at Album Of The Year for the reviews of this album, and they didn’t look so hot. I listened to only a few songs after that, and didn’t like it. That was because I only listened to the middle songs, which ended up being really weak. But once I listened to the full album, it really wasn’t so bad. In fact, I enjoyed some of the songs. My one massive complaint, which prevents a lot of these songs from getting higher scores, is that they are so formulaic. It maddens me since I know for a fact that Taylor knows how to make really good music, but she goes off what she knows her audience likes. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to try something new, especially on an album as hyped up as this. Vigilante was terrible though, nothing is saving that song.

Final Score: 65 (It was OK).