With thoughtful lyrics about love, aging and self-reflection layered over slow synth-pop beats, Midnights, released Oct. 21, passionately reflects Taylor Swift’s talent and maturity as an artist.
Midnights is Swift’s 10th all-new album, and her fourth album after splitting from Big Machine Records in 2018. In the same year, Swift signed with Republic Records, where she later released Lover (2019), folklore (2020), evermore (2020) and re-recorded two of her older albums with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021.
Paralleled with Swift’s re-recording of her first six albums, Midnights has a clear message of taking ownership of every aspect of your life.
No matter where (or when) you are, listening to the album creates the euphoric feeling of dancing alone at midnight.
On Sept. 21, exactly one month before the Midnights release date, Swift revealed the 13 album track titles in a series of bingo-style TikToks titled “Midnights Mayhem with Me.” A second version of the album released three hours after the official 13 tracks were released, Midnights (3am Edition), contained an extra seven tracks for a final count of 20 songs—the largest number of new songs Swift has ever released on one day.
On Oct. 22, Spotify announced Midnights had become the platform’s most streamed album in a day. The company also announced Swift broke the record for Spotify’s most streamed artist in a single day.
Midnights incorporates many elements and themes prevalent in Swift’s previous albums. “Karma,” with the lyrics “karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?” contains sentiments of revenge and independence that were overarching themes in Reputation.
Other tracks echo themes of self-discovery prevalent in the albums folklore and evermore. The lyrics, “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser” in “Anti-Hero” and “he stayed the same, all of me changed like midnight rain” in “Midnight Rain” present an image of a morally grey individual wrestling with their self image and decisions as they age.
Swift collaborated with Lana Del Rey for the album’s fourth track, “Snow On The Beach.” The song is rife with the cryptic metaphors that are a common theme in Swift’s storytelling, with lines such as “life is emotionally abusive, and time can’t stop me quite like you did.” The song is the only track featuring another artist and paints an image of an unconventional yet beautiful love with its light and airy melody.
Shedding the youthful innocence of Swift’s earlier albums, “Bejeweled” makes a statement of being confident and in control despite past tribulations with the lyric “I think I’ve been a little too kind, didn’t notice you walking all over my peace of mind.”
With songs ranging from fast-paced beats about revenge to sweeping love story ballads, Midnights is the crescendo of Swift’s personal and professional development.
Unlike Red (Taylor’s Version), folklore and evermore, which describe devastating heartbreaks and the ruins of love, Midnights is cool and collected. The songs acknowledge past hurt and mistakes, but give a sense of coming away from those situations with a stronger sense of self.
From songs about hometown teenage romance, to reflections on autonomy and aging, Midnights is an author’s note that opens a new chapter in Swift’s career.
Featured image by Natasha Baldin.
