Taylor Swift doesn’t sleep. She is simply too busy being a mastermind.
After the clock struck midnight on October 21st, 2022, Swifties eagerly opened the long-anticipated Midnights album: thirteen songs described by Swift as a “collection of music written in the middle of the night.” Three hours later, Swifties experienced a “special very chaotic surprise”: seven additional tracks as part of the 3am Edition.
Overall, I think the album speaks for itself, but some songs have an uncanny resemblance to those of her other albums. For example, “Lavender Haze” reminds fans of “I Think He Knows” from her 2019 album Lover because of its bubble pop sound. Personally, the “3am tracks” remind me of her 2020 album evermore as its lyrics go a bit further beneath the surface. The song “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” has an eerie feel to it as she describes her deep regret of a past relationship. Lyrics stating that she was nineteen suggest that this is about her relationship with John Mayer in 2010. She is providing an expansion onto her song “Dear John,” this time with the same anger, but a grown-up perspective. The line “give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” gives listeners a look into Swift’s resentment and rage.
Although I think Midnights has somewhat of a unique sound, listeners can still detect that it has songs that were scrapped from her other nine albums. I think the album could have been more cohesive to listen to all the way through. The transition between “You’re On Your Own Kid,” a nostalgic, bittersweet song about growing up, in contrast to “Vigilante Sh*t,” a fierce song about revenge just a few tracks later, feels off. However, the order is growing on me. At first, I felt that the flow of the album in track order was messy. Now, I feel that the stark contrast between the songs allows them to complement each other.
Taylor Swift has arguably written more cohesive albums, but Midnights encapsulates the pure chaos of the middle of the night and it is worth a listen the next time you are up past your bedtime.