Taylor Swift has done it again. Known for her irresistible, catchy tunes about personal relationships, the pop singer released her fifth studio album “1989” Monday.
Much different from her first, self-titled album, “1989” rebrands Swift as a pop artist but with a refreshing twist. “1989” is like Marina and the Diamonds and Kelly Clarkson collaborated with The Naked and Famous.
Surprisingly, not all of her songs are upbeat and hype oriented. Some are slow moving and have more soft-rock pop influences like “Blank Space.” Tracks like “Style” still retain Swift’s lyrical style of catchy choruses, but also add some noticeable guitar riffs. The album still has cotton candy-esque pop ballads like “Welcome to New York” and the single “Shake It Off.” Sweet, light and fun, these could be added to your party playlist.
Swift also had help from artists like Ryan Tedder of One Republic and Imogen Heap. “Clean” is a blend of Heap and Swift’s honeyed vocals and with a fresh look at Swift’s repertoire.
In addition, the production on "1989" has taken a different direction, more baroque, rock-pop oriented rather than dance-pop, which can be seen in “Bad Blood” and “I Know Places.”
Overall, Swift preserves her sugary and infectious pop demeanor but with slight deviation. A lot of the tracks on this album are repetitive, an element that relates to how catchy the album is as a whole. Much of the subject material still relates to personal relationships and falling in love, which isn’t totally novel to Swift’s work.
Nevertheless, this album might be the start to Swift moving in a slightly different direction. Whether it's subtle production differences or more guitar interaction, Swift’s “1989” is much like a cupcake: cute and sweet.