Taylor Swift has gone through a lot of “phases.” Albums Taylor Swift, Fearless, and Speak Now are country and Red is the album where Swift first began to experiment with pop. 1989 explores the ins and outs of teenage flings and the anger from reputation caught headlines by calling out people that have wronged Swift (Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West did not take kindly to this). But her seventh studio album, Lover (released August 23), has a completely different sound.
The first track, “I Forgot That You Existed,” represents her official move past the black and red filled rep tour and attitude. Swift’s country roots peek through tracks “Lover” and “Soon You’ll Get Better” (featuring Dixie Chicks). She balances cheerful songs with themes of lying and cheating as the album rises and falls.
Lover continues on to investigate the beauty and heartbreak of romance and companionship, while also addressing several social issues. In “The Man” Swift examines how different her life and career would be if she was a man. Her social commentary continues in “You Need To Calm Down” where Swift addresses people whose actions are meant to be a detriment to others.
Several of Swift’s tracks are dedicated to people in her life that mean a lot to her. Many songs point to her current partner, Joe Alwyn, and her mother, Andrea, who is battling cancer. Lover creates a sharp juxtaposition to recent songs by other artists that, in comparison, could be construed as shallow and less important.
Swift has a song for everyone on this album. Stuffed with country, modern pop, slow heart-wrenching R&B ballads, and even “sleekly updated Eighties pop-rock” as described by Rolling Stone, anyone listening to this album could be expected to not only want to dance to the rhythm of her catchiest songs, but also pump their fists in the face of discrimination and to wipe away tears released by Swift’s soul-grabbing lyrics.
