Taylor Swift’s Midnights Delights Fans Upon Arrival

In the first track on Midnights, “Lavender Haze” Taylor Swift sings the line “Meet me at midnight.” Fans did meet Swift when she released her latest album Midnights, on October 21st, 2022.  Midnights contains 13 tracks on the standard version. Swift surprised fans when she announced the upcoming arrival of the new album at the MTV VMAs on August 28th, 2022, while accepting Video Of The Year for the “All Too Well” Short Film. Swift describes the album as “The story of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” 

There have been many mixed emotions on the sound of the album. Some fans expected it to sound similar to her 2020 releases, folklore and evermore, while others expected it to resemble her 2014 release, 1989. Despite the surprise, Swift’s new album has been well received.  Grace Carlin, a junior at GCHS, said she would give Midnights a “solid seven out of ten for sure.” Carlin hoped that the album would resemble some of Swift’s earlier projects, “I was hoping for some evermore vibes, with a splash of Lover.” 

Sayre Turner, a junior at GC said “Midnights is a ten.” Turner had read reviews before Midnights’ arrival, and many reviews anticipated that the album would have a rock-like feel. In reality, the album is a full blown pop album. Which didn’t surprise Turner. “I figured that [a rock-like feel] wouldn’t be the case as it spanned many years of midnights.” 

“You’re On Your Own, Kid” starts out with a simple youthful sound and channels a bit of pop punk with the lyric, “I didn’t choose this town, I dream of getting out.” Many have said the beginning gives off “nursery rhyme vibes” with its simplistic lyrics to start and the soft instruments throughout. It tells the story of a young person longing for love but having to understand that they’re on their own. 

In “Question…?” Swift opens up with the lyric, “I remember,” which fans quickly noticed to be a nod to the track from Swift’s 2014 album, 1989, “Out of the Woods.” The song reflects a past relationship and Swift asks her past partner if they miss certain things or the time they spent together. Like “Question…?,” “Out of the Woods” is also a song looking back and reflecting on a past relationship that has been over for a longer period of time. 

“Anti-Hero” is a song Taylor Swift describes as one of her favorite songs she has ever written. The song shows how Swift perceives herself and looks back on herself considered failures. Swift says she struggles with the idea that her life continues to get “unmanageably sized.” She considers this song as a “tour” of the things she dislikes about herself. 

The song “Karma,” was an exciting track title to learn for Swifties. The word ‘karma’ has been a recurring theme in Swift’s life and music. No matter how many times the word has been dropped in a song, it’s never been a song title–until now.  The word has been mentioned in many of her songs and she considers it very important. In the line “Karma’s a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?” Swift is talking about the many good and positive things karma does for her and is asking if you’re envious that it doesn’t treat you the same way. 

In conclusion, Swift’s album is a solid 8.5/10. This album isn’t her best, but it’s definitely worth a listen. When comparing this album to folklore, it doesn’t seem to hold up. I prefer the story telling lyrics on folklore rather than the lyrics on Midnights. However, If you’re looking to get into Swift’s music this could potentially be a great place to start for you.