Taylor Swift has just released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and lots of Swifities aren’t happy with it. Many casual fans have said it felt lazy and like a quick cash grab.
While I do listen to many of Swift’s older songs, I wouldn’t consider myself as a big fan of her. Nevertheless, I was still excited for this new project of hers. There’s been lots of artists who have released amazing music this year, like Conan Gray, Laufey, and Lorde. Following that, I was looking forward to seeing how one of, if not, the biggest pop star in the world would compare to everyone else. To be honest, it wasn’t that great.
I did enjoy the first three songs: “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Elizabeth Taylor,” and “Opalite.” I thought they fit the album’s showgirl aesthetic and were well-written. “The Fate of Ophelia” is probably the best out of the 12 tracks. It’s catchy, upbeat, and sounds like something a younger Taylor Swift would write. If you are unfamiliar with the original story, Ophelia, who was Hamlet’s lover, was driven into madness by the men around her. In Swift’s story, she changes the ending to her being saved from the same fate by her own lover.
“Elizabeth Taylor” was a pretty good follow-up. I liked how all of the verses were slow, leading up to a more angry, intense chorus. “Opalite” was another lively song that might be one of the only ones that I listen to on a regular basis.
It started going downhill on tracks four and five. “Father Figure” wasn’t horrible. However, it definitely isn’t in the top ten in Swift’s discography. “Eldest Daughter” lost my interest. It started out fine, then the chorus started with “But I’m not a bad bi****.” That single line took me out of the story right away. I just don’t like when singers use slang in their songs, and, honestly, the clean version where she changes it to “the baddest” sounds better.
“Ruin the Friendship” did bring my hopes for the album back up. Though, the next couple of tracks were pretty bland and didn’t grab my attention.
Then “Wood” came on. I hated it. Listen, I’m completely fine with people talking about their sexuality or getting explicit, except this simply came off as tacky. It feels like Swift is trying to copy Sabrina Carpenter’s brand, but while Carpenter focuses on her own sexuality and femininity, Swift puts more attention on the man and his “manhood” more than herself.
Same with “CANCELLED!” I do agree with the message she was trying to convey, yet the lyrics are still not well-written, such as, “Did you girl boss too close to the sun?” Again, the use of slang just ruins the little bit of enjoyment I had when listening. It feels like she was trying to recreate her song “Vigilante sh*t” and missed the mark by a long shot.
Skipping to the last track, let’s talk about “The Life of a Showgirl ft. Sabrina Carpenter.” This song was the one I was looking forward to the most, and, once again, it was a let down. The start of the first verse sounded like clunky lazy rhyming: “Her name was Kitty. Made her money being pretty and witty. They gave her the keys to this city, then they said she didn’t do it legitly.” Honestly, I think it would have sounded better if she did a different rhyme scheme. The chorus did save it from being a total disaster; the same was the case with Carpenter’s verse. Also, I’m not the biggest fan of the outro of Swift thanking the crowd, band, and Carpenter because it just felt unnatural and kind of awkward to me.
I do understand that The Life of a Showgirl is supposed to be a fun, upbeat, love album, and I shouldn’t have expected Folklore–a more poetic record–level lyrics, but I was at least hoping it would have a 1989 or Reputation type of style. All and all, this project just wasn’t my vibe.
*On a 0-10 scale, 0-4 is nearly or completely unlistenable, 5-7 in the “maybe listen to this” or “this is kind of good” range, and 8-10 is “genuinely good I recommend this.”*
FINAL RATING: 5/10
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