Taylor Swift is 25 and one of country's biggest stars at the moment. Well, she was until she decided to experiment with pop music with "1989." As most young performers stuck in specific genres likely do, there has to be that one record that reflects a breakaway from the normality. It happened with Avril Lavigne and infamously last year with Miley Cyrus; who in the process created some of her most personal, accessible music including the power ballad "Wrecking Ball." There's something about the raw intensity that forces the artist to be more edgy and vulnerable simultaneously. In the case of Swift, her years of being a pop culture starlet known for making up and breaking up has almost become a mockery of itself. With her first single, "Shake It Off," she covers new ground. Not lyrically, but musically. It was exciting, infectious and the perfect tee for a potential change of pace. Instead, the album plays like a love letter to someone who likes 80's music, but not enough to hire someone who could make quality rhythms to back her up.
The album opens up with a credos, promising something greater in the perfect metaphor: "Welcome to New York." It plays for an introduction as Swift sings about the city being eponymous for something greater and interesting than her roots. It could serve as a metaphor of stepping up to the big leagues, even if she has been there for quite some time. While the song itself plays a commercial for perfume, it does have enthusiasm and excitement over a percussive beat and faint synthesizers. What is going to happen on the rest of the album? Having heard "Shake It Off" already, the album looked to be a delicious confection that mixed a more mature lyrical artist with the beats to back her up.
This theory immediately gets debunked on "Blank Space" in which she talks about a romance and equivocates the experience to being Starbucks lovers. It is a commentary on commercialism and quickly dispensed drinks. The song itself is familiar territory, but at least the enthusiasm keeps things exciting. She knows how to write hooks and get the crowd moving. It is bubbling with optimism and while the lyrics seem to be a little petty, Swift has proven to be a good enough singer to make every line into its own hook. Mature or not, her vocals save a lot of everything that follows.
With exception to the two singles "Shake It Off" and "Out of the Woods," the remainder of the album begins to get less interesting. This isn't because of the lyrical content, but because it begins to sound like an out of touch throwback to the 80's in the worst way imaginable. With Swift singing her heart out, the music producer has given up on giving the songs authenticity and instead replaced it with sparing synthesizer and the familiar, dull drum beats. It's cute for a song or two, but by the time you have to assess the "this sick beat" mention in "Shake It Off," you feel like laughing. What has been done is that a singer with ambitions to be different has to do so over practically the same beat over and over. It would have even worked better if she had to do it acapella or hey, even over country. This pop music producer single-handed botched some good lyrics.
The one defense is that the album picks up towards the end. Instead of just relying on solid catchy hooks, the songs begin to even out and make something investing. "This Love" benefits from adding an old familiar acoustic guitar. It is very familiar with her country days and has the poetic, swaying beauty of her style. It at times evokes the ballads of Shania Twain circa "Up." There's an actual production and the layers all enhance something deeper and more wonderful about the song. There's an authenticity that carries into the final two songs and the sense of youthful exploration in "I Know Places" feels like an escapist dream. Even if the finale of "Clean" feels like a silly metaphorical angst song, it sounds like a woman who has shed a lot of her problematic past in favor of a strong future.
That is exactly what Swift will hopefully have after this. Even if there's plenty to admire about the album, she still feels like she is finding something deeper and more interesting here. The days of goofy anti-romantic songs "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "We Are Never Getting Back Together" appear to be behind her. The only hope is that she doesn't fall into cliche a'la Katy Perry and lose a sense of urgency to her style. "1989" reflects an artist who is maturing into adulthood with some faint attachments to her past. It has plenty of sparks and sadly is only botched by the music production's lack of effort. However, for those choruses and few times that the lyrics work, she is something more special.
It will be interesting to see where she goes, especially having achieved such a high level of success at an early age. An altered image is necessary to a young person, though will it actually work for her? Avril Lavigne tried and unfortunately dropped off after "Best Damn Thing." She's still around, but the music feels too impersonal and manufactured. Even if Swift's "1989" has traces of it, her lyrics ring true as having something more important to say. She makes it work in spite of everything around her. It is an uninspired nostalgic cry to the 80's, but as a cry to her own life, there's probably plenty to pick apart on repeated listening and a lot more to hope for. Even if "Shake It Off" is a dull statement of the obvious (haters are going to hate? That's like saying that writers are going to write or snorkelers are going to snorkel), it works as a rallying cry of a new era for Swift. Will we take her seriously this time? Maybe.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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