It’s probably going to be a mega-hit, but that’s the Swift brand pressing play, not the music.
Apple pie pop star Taylor Swift has been immortalised by gushing media, happy-clappy fans, and a wholesome image that no rhinestone or nipple cap can diminish.
Yet, her latest and twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, is a sexed up blunt instrument that crams innuendo into bubble-gum pop. It’s probably going to be a mega-hit, but that’s the Swift brand pressing play, not the music.
It was extremely interesting to read the varied reviews first, before giving it a listen. Because based on the album title alone, there’s an expectation of chorus line showgirl tunes.
Nothing can be further from the truth. It’s pop, through and through, and recognisably musically sanitised but lyrically fragile and somewhat overreaching.
From the get-go, it feels like a poor facsimile of Sabrina Carpenter’s fantastical lyrical sorties, while the tunes are unmistakably Swift.
Lyrically fragile
Swift is a 35-year-old billionaire with a football boyfriend. But despite getting on in years and at times yearning for a picket fence in her lyrics, most of it is teenage dreaming.
On Eldest Daughter she sings “Everybody’s so punk on the internet, everyone’s unbothered ‘till they’re not, every joke’s just trolling and memes, sad as it seems, apathy is hot”.
Powerful lyrics they are not, words that feel as if they were written while waiting for chicken wings at a drive-through.
And it’s littered throughout the 41 minutes of music.
Is she pushing out music for the sake of it?
Previously, Swift has sung about sex too, but on Showgirl, she slangs it out in the unsexiest ways possible.
On Wood, a Jackson 5 riffed intro, she discos on about how well-endowed boyfriend Travis Kelce is and, of course, what an adept lover he makes.
It’s a song that reminds of someone getting a tattoo of their lover’s name across their back, only to struggle with deleting it when the breakup makes for wasted ink. Trying not to be a good girl is not working as well as perhaps Madonna pulled it off at the genesis of sexually empowered stars.
It’s a wobbly collection of tunes
Cancelled is a tune that should be cancelled. The Fate of Ophelia is probably the best track on the album and the collection’s opener. But it leads you down a garden path because, well, none of the other songs match up to its build.
Yet, that’s not saying much but saying a lot at the same time.
The final track, a duet with Sabrina Carpenter, is ok, because the latter saves the former. Elizabeth Taylor’s a watercolour painting.
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Ruin The Friendship feels like a bit of a poor imitation of early Katy Perry. She sings: “Shiny wood floors underneath my feet. Disco ball makes everything look cheap. Have Fun. It’s Prom. Wilted corsage dangles from my wrist. Over his shoulder I catch a glimpse. Should have kissed you anyway.” It’s catchy, though, I guess.
Most curious of all is that the album has nothing to do with its title. There’s no showgirl here, just a show.
It’s a record, so to speak, of inept lyrics and angst grasping at straws. It almost feels like a midlife crisis, because Swift is caught between adulthood and looking back at the business of a youngster’s pen.
A Gen Z loves the album
The writing is juvenile, and the music, produced by previous collaborators Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, was recorded during the European leg of the Eras tour last year. They also worked on Reputation, Red and 1989 with Swift.
The singer described the album as “exuberant and electric and vibrant” and as “the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place” of her life.
Last year’s Tortured Poets Society was a fantastic collection of music.
Looking back, so was 1989.
But, as a GenZ put it to me, Life of a Showgirl is a brilliant album where Swift recorded her happiness, her joy of being in love.
According to the GenZ, it’s a wonderful collection of work. So, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or, in this case, the listener.
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