Post by Roman on Sept 8, 2019 6:35:32 GMT -5
I wrote a review of Lover. I rated the songs from least good to best.
False God (6/10)
To start with the positive: the foundation of the song is a nice rhythmic pop tune that flows with some sensual lyrics. It doesn’t really suite Taylor. The title “False God” is out of place. The strong religious expression doesn’t go well with the topic of describing your lover. “Divine” would’ve been a more appropriate analogy if you really want to insist on describing this in religious terms. The worst mistake in this song is the saxophone. The intro is already questionable. The short saxophone bursts in between are like nails on a chalkboard. It sounds like a duck. It could’ve been a bit better by making the sound a bit longer. In general the saxophone part doesn’t go with the pop sound and makes the song sound cheesy.
It’s Nice To Have A Friend (6/10)
The title sounds promising, but the song doesn’t live up to it. The content is quite boring. The sound is weak. Taylor’s voice has a nice flow and is always pleasant to hear. The background vocals rub against the grain. The trumpet part in between makes you ask: why? You can’t really be sad about the fact that the song is really short. Overall the song is not terrible, but redundant.
I Think He Knows (6/10)
I’m a bit puzzled by what people see in this song. One could wonder if this should’ve made the album. It doesn’t match Taylor at all. The song has a cheap girl group feel. Taylor’s vocals are very forced: before the chorus it goes down too much and then gets high pitched in a cringy way. The best part about this song is the baseline.
Death By A Thousand Cuts (6.5/10)
After a weak start, the song turns into a low key love song. The fast paced lyrics roll well through the song. Something is missing to make it a good song. There’s a Christmas feel about this song, but the song doesn’t fit into the Christmas spirit. The title is a bit overdramatic.
London Boy (6.5/10)
It's typical Taylor to give others a platform. But quoting Idris Elba and put it on the album, wasn't the best idea. This song is a fun homage to England/London. The cheerful youthful vibe of the song is nice. It’s not a song that will stick long term, the song is not mature and meaningful enough for that. Ironically this song could be in Charli XCX’s repertoire. If you’re above 18, you don’t want to listen to this too often.
I Forgot That You Existed (7/10)
The first song of Lover is a solid pop song. It won’t get you overly excited, but there are no major flaws in it either. The message is inspiring: burn off dead wood.
Cornelia Street (7/10)
Not much good to say; not much bad to say about this. A flowing mellow song. The song is too long; it only captures you for about 2 minutes.
ME! (7/10)
The first single of Lover, split the fandom in half. Some love it and get excited, some think this is the odd one out. It doesn’t blend in with the rest of the album really well. But the song has a certain appeal. It’s a bombastic self-love anthem in the middle of a collection of mostly timid songs. Respect for Brendon Urie, one of Taylor's better collaborations.
You Need To Calm Down (7/10)
There’s a good sense of humor in this song. The words “you need to calm down” are a strong reminder for everyone to stop yourself from overreacting. The music is bold in a good way. Taylor skates on thin ice with the content of this song. Complicated political subjects can never be answered with a simple “for” or “against”. Hopefully this won’t alienate Swifties.
Moving on to the better half of this album.
Cruel Summer (7.5/10)
It doesn’t entirely match Taylor’s style, but it’s close enough. The chorus doesn’t roll of the tongue too well. But the music and lyrics are strong enough. In contrast to the subject, the sound of this song feels like summer.
The Archer (8/10)
Content-wise this is probably the strongest song of this album. There’s a lot of self-doubt and self-reflection in this song. Taylor opens up her deeper thoughts to the public. Musically it’s a pleasant song. There could’ve been more of a climax.
The Man (8/10)
The music, especially the beat, is very strong and gets you moving. Taylor did well by keeping the song light-hearted and cheeky. Considering the subject, this could’ve easily turned into a man-hating anthem for feminists. Taylor prevented that by mostly raising questions instead of making statements.
Paper Rings (8/10)
This is the perfect example of “life is too short to pretend you don’t like catchy Taylor Swift songs”. The fast pace is very “dancy”. This would’ve been a hit in the 60’s. If it was up to me, this would be the perfect song to end every concert of the upcoming Tour. Let people give all they got left one more time. And put the band and dancers in the spotlight. End it with confetti of paper rings.
Afterglow (8.5/10)
You can’t ask much more from a generic pop song. Strong music, good rhythm, strong vocals. The content of this song is also strong and intriguing.
Soon You’ll Get Better (8.5/10)
This song cuts deep. It’s like Never Grow Up in a mortality cloak. The lyrics and Taylor’s voice perfectly execute this heartbreaking song. You can’t help getting a lump in your throat. If you think about mama Swift and how this could end, it’s almost unbearable.
Daylight (8.5/10)
Daylight is the secret gem of this album. It’s pleasant at the first listen. The more you go into it, the better it gets. Taylor managed to give the pop sound a more profound feel. The content is romantic and hopeful. Taylor topped it off with a powerful spoken message at the end.
Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince (8.5/10)
The best part of this song is the magically suppressed energy level in the music. To maximize the impact of the music, you need to crank up the volume in a stadium to the point the concrete gets cracks. The live performance can’t do without a “bouncy” drummer like Josh Dun. This will get the crowd moving. There’s a gangster tune underneath this, but in a fun way. The message of the song is surprising. From a romantic storyline Taylor points out how fake American culture and traditions are. It’s puzzling that it took her 20 years to see that. It’s even disturbing that she thinks it’s a recent change. America has been like that since…forever.
Lover (9/10)
When Lover came out, I didn’t expect the song to be the highlight of the album. After comparing it to the rest of the album, it’s hard not to. Lover is a genuine love song with high musical quality. It makes you hug your loved ones and dream of finding the right person to share your life with. With this song Taylor reaches out again to all her fans from past to present. It reminds us what her most significant talents are.
Summary: after Reputation this album is a relief. It’s great that Taylor got back her inspiration and gave us a clear sign that she can still make quality music. We’re not quite back to Taylor’s usual high quality from 1989 and RED, but this is very hopeful for the future. Content wise there’s a little setback. I always thought that Taylor would be capable of writing very meaningful songs about other topics besides love. This album shows she should stick to love songs. Taylor didn’t succeed in experimenting with other topics. Instead of coming up with intelligent eye-opening messages, her opinions are copies of questionable superficial political agendas.
Overall rating 7.5/10
To start with the positive: the foundation of the song is a nice rhythmic pop tune that flows with some sensual lyrics. It doesn’t really suite Taylor. The title “False God” is out of place. The strong religious expression doesn’t go well with the topic of describing your lover. “Divine” would’ve been a more appropriate analogy if you really want to insist on describing this in religious terms. The worst mistake in this song is the saxophone. The intro is already questionable. The short saxophone bursts in between are like nails on a chalkboard. It sounds like a duck. It could’ve been a bit better by making the sound a bit longer. In general the saxophone part doesn’t go with the pop sound and makes the song sound cheesy.
It’s Nice To Have A Friend (6/10)
The title sounds promising, but the song doesn’t live up to it. The content is quite boring. The sound is weak. Taylor’s voice has a nice flow and is always pleasant to hear. The background vocals rub against the grain. The trumpet part in between makes you ask: why? You can’t really be sad about the fact that the song is really short. Overall the song is not terrible, but redundant.
I Think He Knows (6/10)
I’m a bit puzzled by what people see in this song. One could wonder if this should’ve made the album. It doesn’t match Taylor at all. The song has a cheap girl group feel. Taylor’s vocals are very forced: before the chorus it goes down too much and then gets high pitched in a cringy way. The best part about this song is the baseline.
Death By A Thousand Cuts (6.5/10)
After a weak start, the song turns into a low key love song. The fast paced lyrics roll well through the song. Something is missing to make it a good song. There’s a Christmas feel about this song, but the song doesn’t fit into the Christmas spirit. The title is a bit overdramatic.
London Boy (6.5/10)
It's typical Taylor to give others a platform. But quoting Idris Elba and put it on the album, wasn't the best idea. This song is a fun homage to England/London. The cheerful youthful vibe of the song is nice. It’s not a song that will stick long term, the song is not mature and meaningful enough for that. Ironically this song could be in Charli XCX’s repertoire. If you’re above 18, you don’t want to listen to this too often.
I Forgot That You Existed (7/10)
The first song of Lover is a solid pop song. It won’t get you overly excited, but there are no major flaws in it either. The message is inspiring: burn off dead wood.
Cornelia Street (7/10)
Not much good to say; not much bad to say about this. A flowing mellow song. The song is too long; it only captures you for about 2 minutes.
ME! (7/10)
The first single of Lover, split the fandom in half. Some love it and get excited, some think this is the odd one out. It doesn’t blend in with the rest of the album really well. But the song has a certain appeal. It’s a bombastic self-love anthem in the middle of a collection of mostly timid songs. Respect for Brendon Urie, one of Taylor's better collaborations.
You Need To Calm Down (7/10)
There’s a good sense of humor in this song. The words “you need to calm down” are a strong reminder for everyone to stop yourself from overreacting. The music is bold in a good way. Taylor skates on thin ice with the content of this song. Complicated political subjects can never be answered with a simple “for” or “against”. Hopefully this won’t alienate Swifties.
Moving on to the better half of this album.
Cruel Summer (7.5/10)
It doesn’t entirely match Taylor’s style, but it’s close enough. The chorus doesn’t roll of the tongue too well. But the music and lyrics are strong enough. In contrast to the subject, the sound of this song feels like summer.
The Archer (8/10)
Content-wise this is probably the strongest song of this album. There’s a lot of self-doubt and self-reflection in this song. Taylor opens up her deeper thoughts to the public. Musically it’s a pleasant song. There could’ve been more of a climax.
The Man (8/10)
The music, especially the beat, is very strong and gets you moving. Taylor did well by keeping the song light-hearted and cheeky. Considering the subject, this could’ve easily turned into a man-hating anthem for feminists. Taylor prevented that by mostly raising questions instead of making statements.
Paper Rings (8/10)
This is the perfect example of “life is too short to pretend you don’t like catchy Taylor Swift songs”. The fast pace is very “dancy”. This would’ve been a hit in the 60’s. If it was up to me, this would be the perfect song to end every concert of the upcoming Tour. Let people give all they got left one more time. And put the band and dancers in the spotlight. End it with confetti of paper rings.
Afterglow (8.5/10)
You can’t ask much more from a generic pop song. Strong music, good rhythm, strong vocals. The content of this song is also strong and intriguing.
Soon You’ll Get Better (8.5/10)
This song cuts deep. It’s like Never Grow Up in a mortality cloak. The lyrics and Taylor’s voice perfectly execute this heartbreaking song. You can’t help getting a lump in your throat. If you think about mama Swift and how this could end, it’s almost unbearable.
Daylight (8.5/10)
Daylight is the secret gem of this album. It’s pleasant at the first listen. The more you go into it, the better it gets. Taylor managed to give the pop sound a more profound feel. The content is romantic and hopeful. Taylor topped it off with a powerful spoken message at the end.
Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince (8.5/10)
The best part of this song is the magically suppressed energy level in the music. To maximize the impact of the music, you need to crank up the volume in a stadium to the point the concrete gets cracks. The live performance can’t do without a “bouncy” drummer like Josh Dun. This will get the crowd moving. There’s a gangster tune underneath this, but in a fun way. The message of the song is surprising. From a romantic storyline Taylor points out how fake American culture and traditions are. It’s puzzling that it took her 20 years to see that. It’s even disturbing that she thinks it’s a recent change. America has been like that since…forever.
Lover (9/10)
When Lover came out, I didn’t expect the song to be the highlight of the album. After comparing it to the rest of the album, it’s hard not to. Lover is a genuine love song with high musical quality. It makes you hug your loved ones and dream of finding the right person to share your life with. With this song Taylor reaches out again to all her fans from past to present. It reminds us what her most significant talents are.
Summary: after Reputation this album is a relief. It’s great that Taylor got back her inspiration and gave us a clear sign that she can still make quality music. We’re not quite back to Taylor’s usual high quality from 1989 and RED, but this is very hopeful for the future. Content wise there’s a little setback. I always thought that Taylor would be capable of writing very meaningful songs about other topics besides love. This album shows she should stick to love songs. Taylor didn’t succeed in experimenting with other topics. Instead of coming up with intelligent eye-opening messages, her opinions are copies of questionable superficial political agendas.
Overall rating 7.5/10