Taylor Swift - 1989 [Album Review]

Usually when a music artist releases their fifth album, it’s more of the same sort of thing they’ve already been doing – but not Taylor Swift. Not content on being labelled a ‘country singer’, the female artist has strayed into new territory by making her fifth album officially a ‘pop album’.

The singer’s album, entitled 1989 (after her birth year), is inspired by the pop music scene of that year, and is representative of the singer’s fully fledged departure from her signature style, into an album that is undeniably pop – but with a twist. You’d be forgiven for thinking Swift would lose some of her storytelling ability in her tracks, instead opting to go down the ‘mind numbing pop stereotype’ that a few people think of when the word ‘pop’ is used. But of course, pop doesn’t have to be nearly so dull, and often has a bed rep amongst those who can be a bit prone to musical snobbery. And if there was ever a case that pop doesn’t have to be similar in sound and style, Swift is here to set the record straight.

Of course, there’s some things that are similar with 1989; like Taylor’s relationship-central track topics. But this isn’t all about heartbreak and ‘you did this and it made me feel like this’, oh no, this is more of a stand and a discussion on the complexity of relationships, intertwined with killer synths, eclectic drum beats and dominating bass. We are going to be looking at the Deluxe version of the album, and taking you through track-by-track. So, let’s kick this off!

The first track off the album is ‘Welcome To New York’, the second promotional single. In an unfortunate kick off, the track’s lyrics aren’t the best from the album and it’s dull at times. The next NYC anthem, it is not – but it’s still got the sugary catchy sound if you like that sort of thing. In short, it’s glossy and airy in tone, but it makes no real impact. The second track does a much better job of getting across what Swift’s album is all about.

‘Blank Space’ is a real gem of a track, and the electropop sound really suits Swift’s voice and style. The lyrical matter is something to be marvelled at, as well. In a self-mocking fashion and as a critique to her critics who would portray her as some sort of maniacal nightmare date, she really pushes back and in this song, portrays herself as all the things the media would describe her as. It’s a real hard-hitter and incredibly humorous in tone that she is mocking the way that she is portrayed as some sort of man-eater who uses people for song material. The tone of Swift’s voice in the track matches with the villainous undertones of the song and the two go hand-in-hand to create this images that Swift has so cleverly concocted. The sweet sounding nature of the track really provides a stark contrast with the subject matter and lyrical content – “they’ll tell you I’m insane/ but I’ve got a blank space baby, and I’ll write your name”. Near-end, the track gets into a break down with Swift teasing that “Boys only want love if it’s torture/ Don’t say I didn’t warn ya”, which is some of the most memorable lyrics from the track.

The third track, ‘Style’ really has that 90s groove to it and is one of the more down-right funky sounding songs from the singer-songwriter, and the end of verse break down is so typical of that type of musical period. It’s a fun track, and it measures up well next to others, but there are certainly other songs that make more an impact. Listen if you’re a fan of groove and want a track to just kick back and dance to. Coming in at number 4 is ‘Out Of The Woods’, which also served as the first promotional single from the album. This piece is a real fun and imaginative track which shows what Swift can do when teamed up with ‘fun.’ member Jack Antonoff. It’s a bit of mix between Swift’s signature vocals and a far more mature and intriguing sound – so credit to her. Very synthpop and unusual in sound, this marks a big progression for the singer who was known for her very traditional country anthems about heartbreak, but ‘Out Of The Woods’ shows that this isn’t what she’s all about anymore.

Track 5 is ‘All You Had To Do Was Stay’ and it’s a pretty solid addition mid-way through 1989, and the ending verses are sung with that sickly sweet electronic sound, in a breathy manner. After that is ‘Shake It Off’, which I’m sure you all know about – but in case you don’t, it’s pretty much about Swift shaking off all her haters and moving on up. A feel-good track that it perhaps a little too addictive in nature. Next up at 7 is ‘I Wish You Would’ which is perfectly alright, but not one of the most memorable from the album. You could probably give this a miss, unless you’re really into wishing (upon a star).

Taking a turn for the feisty and onto the more aggressive almost ‘Gwen Stefani’ sound (think beat like ‘Hollaback Girl’), is ‘Bad Blood’. Swift takes a more dominant stance on this saying “Did you have to hit me/ where I’m weak, baby I couldn’t breathe”, and then goes into a voice strain which actually suits her, hitting those high notes in a more rock fashion. It’s full of attitude and as catchy as hell. In at 9 is ‘Wildest Dreams’ which has a lovely musical opening that really draws you in, with Swift’s voice coming across more softer in contrast to the previous track. This is a nice change and it is classic Swift but with more bite and a more mature sound. Track 10 (‘How You Get The Girl’) and 11 (‘This Love’) don’t really do anything for us – they’re not bad – but perhaps amongst all the really, genuinely fantastic tracks, they just don’t seem to have the ability to grab attention as much. ‘This Love’ does have some really beautiful opening instrumentals though.

Track 12 is a different take on the classic pop song, with a darker undertone “Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes/and guns” that deals with Swift and her lover knowing places that they can go to escape – it comes as no surprise that the track is entitled ‘I Know Places’. The last track off the standard edition is ‘Clean’ and it’s a suitable ending, as Swift teams up with songstress Imogen Heap. It’s very much about ‘getting clean’ in the emotional sense, but its lyrics could certainly be applied to other addictions, situations or troubles – “Rain came pouring down/ When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe”.

Now we get onto the fun bonus tracks from the Deluxe. We have to say, ‘Wonderland’ is perhaps one of our favourites of the album as Swift does some pretty amazing thing manipulating her voice into new manners to create totally new different sounds that captivate. ‘Wonderland’ also has a similar dark undertone to ‘I Know Places’ and ‘Blank Space’, with Swift mentioning that “You searched the world for something else to make you feel like what we had/ and in the end in Wonderland, we both went mad”. ‘Wonderland’ is very much a group effort and fault on both parties for getting lost in the moment, and the almost dubstep sound is certainly something dramatically different from anything Swift has previously done. The last two tracks are ‘You Are In Love’ and ‘New Romantics’, the first being a subtle percussion opening with ethereal electro pop sounds suitable for the song, and the latter having a more discotheque vibe, with Swift’s voice going particularly deep for this last addition. It’s a bit Charli XCX. Certainly one to dance to.

1989 is a triumph for Swift, who has proven that she’s more than country but hasn’t forgotten her roots and her original storytelling is evident in most tracks off the album, and the un-missable and memorable favourite certainly propel the album to a higher status. It’s got pretty much everything – and the catchy nature of the tracks mean that the album is very radio-friendly and likely to be a huge success for the singer-songwriter. It’s a pity the quality of the album means that filler tracks really stand out more than usual, and if those were polished up a perhaps more personal like the majority of the songs, then Swift’s album would be pretty much perfection.