Taylor Allison Swift has become a staple in the music industry and the musical world. We love her for her pop radio songs, and emotionally driven lyrics. From the start of her career, people all around the world have been on their hands and knees every album release. With Midnights – Taylor’s 10th studio album – just being released, fans are going crazy reliving Taylor’s 13 sleepless nights written in song. 

The album was released Oct. 21st, and you can bet that listeners were willing to wait all night for not only the album, but the secondary album Midnights (3am Edition). What most expected to be written in the style of her previous albums Folklore and Evermore, turned out to be the opposite. In all honesty, it was quite the let down hearing a pop dance beat in the background of the opening track – Lavender Haze. Initially I was taken back by the album, but after a few more thorough listens I can confidently say that this is one of the best albums Taylor Swift has released. 

Starting off with Lavender Haze, the love song the media needed. Lavender Haze touches on the realities of a public relationship. She describes how people are constantly prying into her life, privacy, and most importantly her sexuality and the conspiracies social media creates around her love life. Although I hoped for a soft and sweet ballad, I’m very pleased with the outcome of Lavender Haze and believe it was the perfect opener for the album.

Maroon, on the other hand, is the opposite. This perfect descriptive ballad touches on the nostalgia behind a failed relationship. The lyrics in the chorus all have one thing in common and it’s that they were all different shades of red, all leading up to the sky which was Maroon. 

Anti-Hero was described by Taylor as her most personal and true-to-self song. Even with its dance style beat, Anti-Hero touches subjects that we would normally find hard to talk about. In this song Taylor paints herself as the villain, or the “Anti-Hero” as the title suggests. She acknowledges that she knows she can be a lot, and has flaws and is “the problem.” Anti-Hero is a very  interpersonal, allowing listeners to relate and dive into their own emotions.

Snow On The Beach featuring Lana Del Rey took over the internet with the controversial idea that Lana Del Rey is nowhere to be heard on the track. Personally, I think Snow On The Beach is a beautifully composed song, and though Lana is only back vocal it creates a perfect contrast between their voices. Snow On The Beach is an elegant song that describes how love can be weird, but overall it’s like seeing snow at the beach and in the end it’s beautiful. 

You’re On Your Own Kid is one of my favorites. I think it’s so open for interpretation that it gives us a sense of nostalgia mixed with heartache and false hope. It paints a picture of summer and growing up whilst describing how she fell in love with what I assume is her childhood best friend. 

Gen Gard describes Midnight Rain’s lyrics as a mix between Taylor’s Debut and Fearless, and Reputation and Lover styled beats. Following Midnight Rain comes Question…?, an upbeat song that mildly disappointed me in the end, but I could never hate anything Taylor sings. 

The next two songs on the album were not what I expected. Their bubblegum pop and villainous lyrics didn’t really mesh well with what I hoped for. Bejeweled has grown on me quite a bit. It’s good for when you’re in a confident mood! Another song on the album that sort of follows this style of music is Karma – which is one of my lowest ranked songs. 

Labyrinth is a soft spoken love song about the terrors of falling in and out of love. It reminds me of the Lover album mixed with some Folklore. I love the way Labyrinth has all the phases of falling in love. First, “Uh oh, I’m falling in love,” then, “Oh no, I’m falling in love again,” finally, “Oh I’m falling in love.” Labyrinth is one of my favorite songs on the album.

Sweet Nothing and Mastermind create the perfect ending for the album. With Sweet Nothing’s lullaby melodies and Mastermind’s concluding vibe we get the perfect turn out. Sweet Nothing is a love song for the masses, and Mastermind gives us closure to the choices and things we’ve done for the people we love.

Midnights was a difficult first listen as it was for many, but after you’re able to find the songs you listen to it’s a beautiful album with music for everyone. Along with the Midnights original album Taylor also released Midnights (3am Version), which I would review, but I believe that’s an individual listen type of experience. I’m very pleased with the album, and not only because I’m a Swifty. I think anyone would be able to find a song on the album to fall in love with and fixate on. Taylor Swift is a lyrical genius with the most amazing storytelling ever, and I can’t wait to see what she has planned next!