Album Review: Taylor Swift - 1989

Taylor Swift - 1989

Big Machine - 2014

8.5/10

Throughout Taylor Swift's entire career up to this point, she mostly stuck to a blend of country and pop, leaning more towards the pop as she reached Red in 2012. Following that record would see the full realization of pop under an umbrella that I would call far more appealing, which was showcased in 1989. Though there hasn’t been a full album of hers that I care to listen to often, until this one, the others at least offered a hit or two I could get behind. It probably also doesn’t help that most of them are a bit lengthy.

For one, 1989 corrects both of these problems. Instead of tossing sixty-five minutes of pop tunes over the wall and hoping some of them land, this feels like it was meant to have continuity, and structure. The hits then felt a little more put-together. I can’t pretend that “Shake It Off” isn’t sort of silly, lacking much substance, but its execution is serviceable enough. The real monster jam is “Blank Space,” an old guilty pleasure of high school me that couldn’t be bothered to admit it. This track ties together smooth vocal performance, strong progression, and actual poetic flow. “All You Had To Do Is Stay” shakes a sturdier foundation, just another example of the pop abilities being realized. Her integration of synths into a lot of the rhythm backing did wonders across the board.

With that, there’s a running theme of breakups here. That isn’t out of the ordinary for Taylor Swift, however this time around things feel a bit more linear. “Bad Blood” and “How You Get The Girl” are two strong reaction-type tunes that inject just the smallest touch of attitude, reaching that sweet spot. The latter is a slightly deeper cut, something that makes up a decent portion of the better tracks. In fact, opener “Welcome To New York,” while seeming to sidestep the theme, still serves as Swift’s strongest opening song to date. “Deep cut” may not even be the right word for some of these, but I hadn’t heard this one prior to listening to the album. Really an incredible way to introduce us to the work, and again, is aided heavily by the synths.

All things considered, everything I look for in this style of modern pop is present. There are absolutely some goofy lines here and there, and a couple of throwaway tracks that we could have done without. But, you could say that about almost any KISS record, or most early rock ‘n roll and metal in general. The focus has never been more present prior to this, the catchier tunes feel more thought out, and overall, I couldn’t recommend it enough to someone itching to seek out this style.