As almost everybody and their mother knows, pop icon Taylor Swift released her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, in early October. I’ll be the one to say it: it’s not…that good. It is safe to say that after almost 20 years, 12 studio albums, four rereleased “Taylor’s Versions,” and numerous Grammys, Taylor Swift has finally begun to pretend to be somebody she’s not: relatable. Her new album attempts to remain just as with-the-times as her previous albums, but falls flat, leaving listeners with a cringeworthy, boring, and tone-deaf collection of tracks.
Most of the album’s critics agree that the primary takeaway from this album is the cringeworthy, awkward lyrics. One of my favorite (take that word and its connotation with a grain of salt) tracks on this album, “Wood,” is the most notable example. While I enjoyed the funky and Jackson 5-reminiscent production, my praise of this song’s experimentation only goes so far as that; the lyrics are another conversation. The innuendos – while bold – felt awkward and uncomfortable. Swift has made amazing songs in the past with the same provocativeness, such as “Dress” and “Guilty as Sin,” but with “Wood,” it feels as if she’s reaching for relevancy. She sees artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Tate McRae, who have created their audience by writing fun and scandalous songs that were responsible for their popularity. Her attempt to copy these artists’ claim to fame fails when it reaches her audience, which has been built from her beautiful, passion-fueled lyrics, not her false cheekiness. Despite this, Wood gets a pass for its surface-level lyrics because of its danceable tune, but this is not the case for her lead ballad, “Eldest Daughter.” Swift has famously placed her most emotional and vulnerable songs as her fifth track, so when the tracklist came out for The Life of a Showgirl, fans anticipated “Eldest Daughter” to be just as raw and beautiful as her past “track fives.” Unfortunately, we were disappointed. Lyrics such as “but I’m not the baddest / and this isn’t savage,” and “all the eldest daughters were the first lamb to the slaughter / so we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire,” were written with the intentions of being satirical, but the slow mood, as well as the expectation of this being a serious song, just makes the lyrics awkward. The latter lyric is an example of many lyrics on this album that had potential to be great lyrics, but were watered down. The analogy of a sheep in wolf’s clothing as opposed to a wolf in sheep’s clothing is a beautiful concept to dwell on, but the last part – an allusion to internet slang – overshadows it. Swift’s constant attempt to make fun of social media terms is another factor contributing to her try-hard cringe in this album. It’s hard to admit that Swift’s songwriting was flawed on this album, especially because she is considered to be one of this generation’s greatest songwriters. It seems as if the pressure to be a genius lyricist has gotten to her head, leading her to spew out nonsensical, hollow slop.
A notable difference between this album and Swift’s past decade-worth of albums is the producer. Swift’s last seven albums were produced by Jack Antonoff, but The Life of a Showgirl was produced by Max Martin and Shellback, who had previously produced Swift’s Red and 1989 (alongside Antonoff). Because of this, many fans anticipated the songs to sound similar to that of the aforementioned albums – bright, colorful, vibrant pop – and while it seems as if this sound was attempted, it was not executed nearly as well. Many tracks, such as “Actually Romantic,” “Wi$h Li$t,” and “Honey,” lacked depth and energy within their production. When the producers of the album were first announced, I was happy to see Jack Antonoff’s absence; I think he’s extremely talented, but his contribution to Swift’s albums has noticeably become very copy-and-paste. However, after listening to the album, I wish that his creative expertise had some voice on the production of this album – an album that sounds similar to previously made work is better than a boring album.
Since the release of The Life of a Showgirl, many people have been questioning Swift’s morals, which peeked out through her lyrics in her new songs, specifically the track “CANCELLED!” Similar to “Wood,” I think this song is interesting production-wise, and I agree with fans when they call this song “Reputation-coded.” Swift had a great opportunity to comment on the toxicity of cancel culture, but instead, it seemed as if she was embracing how problematic her friends are, which is concerning considering the recent controversies surrounding the people she puts herself around. As most of us know, Taylor Swift is worth a lot of money. 2.1 billion dollars, to be precise. Many people believe that her excessive wealth, as well as her new development, surrounding herself with the peers of Travis Kelce, may have torn her from the humble, sweet persona we once knew, or, at least, she once showed us.
