Country artist experiments with new genres, keeps same bitter lyrics in fourth album
Oh, Taylor.
She’s the 22-year-old that’s had more mishaps in love than most have had in a lifetime. We’ve heard every word — the losses, bad decisions and bitter takes on Hollywood’s young, golden boys.
She obviously hasn’t learned many lessons, but haven’t they? If you date Taylor, you will get an album. And not a sweet, Lumineers “Ho Hey” kind of album.
It’s all very petty. The blonde, blue-eyed starlet so burned and embattled by love at such a young age, and you want to judge. Her songs are straying further and further from country and play on the simplest terms of rage.
But, you listen. They work — if not in their musical prowess, in their wide-spanning, painful truth. Swift’s latest album is no exception to her rule.
“Red” paved the way to its Monday release with a slow trickle of singles, none of which meet the criteria of the country genre. They broke records, though, with nearly 4 million downloads before the full-album release.
The curtain opened with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
It’s tongue-in-cheek in its presentation, a few peppy “oooh-ooh-oohs” and the obvious seven-word chorus. But, knowing Swift, it has a very direct target. If not evident from her in-song snark, reenacting phone calls and adding the extra “like, ever,” then from the swirling speculation of the man/boy behind the song.
Joe Jonas was cleared from the list, FYI.
One could say it’s dumb, immature, lacking real artistic merit. Or one could look at one’s iTunes play count and see “51.” It’s the Carly Rae, J. Biebs, Demi Lovato effect.
The singles continued to build on the songstress’s fourth showing, with “Begin Again,” then “I Knew You Were Trouble.” and finally “State of Grace.”
“Begin Again” is good. It’s Swift from her first album — the grown-up “Teardrops on My Guitar.” And we can only assume it’s referencing the initial spark between Swift and her 18-year-old boyfriend Conor Kennedy, on a Wednesday, in a café.
It’s a slow track, focusing on sweet vocals and gentle acoustics, and it moves back to endearing lyrics. She once again paints herself as the insecure girl, with quirky jokes and a box full of James Taylor records.
“State of Grace” tries for a cool rock ‘n’ roll kind of vibe, and it works. Although it doesn’t match up with the country Swift, it shows a new side to the acoustic guitar and cutesy love songs.
The whole album plays with new sounds, from pop princess to the edgier alternative to dubstep. Swift rolls a little wobble bass into the chorus of “I Knew You Were Trouble.,” and its not bad, but unexpected. And she definitely is the first to bring the electronic dance beats to a country-branded CD.
“Red,” the title track, is the standout of the listing. It’s catchy, but sticks to the Swift fans fell in love with. The lyrics are the tweetable kind, assigning colors to every stage of heartbreak.
She opens the song with, “Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street.”
Again, love the lyrics, but to better identify with fans, maybe she should have been driving a Toyota Camry or a Jeep Wrangler. The Maserati is a little much.
Another “Red” gem is “Everything Has Changed,” featuring Ed Sheeran. The 21-year-old English singer (“The A Team”) opens the track with a spoken “We good to go?” And you melt.
The two strum their acoustic guitars, feeding off simple lyrics and gorgeous harmonies. It’s really wonderful.
She also collaborates with Snow Patrol’s Irish frontman Gary Lightbody on “The Last Time.” It’s another take on the alternative, and she impresses, but without the same lovely shine of the Sheeran duet.
There are only two real fails in the 16 tracks: “22” and “Starlight.” In the first, she sings about being 22 like she’s somewhere around 14. It’s very Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” meets “Call Me Maybe.” The second includes a reference to herself as a “Barbie on the boardwalk.”
“Red” definitely lives up to its hype — it’s given fans new and old reasons to love their golden girl. She brings in new sounds and succeeds in collaborations and falls a little from her “State of Grace” with the pop-heavy, bubblegum tracks.
That being said, it’s the last album Swift can get away with the angsty, bitter attacks on her exes. She can sing about love all day long, but in a bit more refined light.
Adele was 21 when she wrote heart-wrenching ballads like “Someone Like You,” “Take It All” and “Turning Tables.” Swift, a year older, knew you were trouble. And you’re never ever getting back together. Ever.