Pop’s biggest name is back with her seventh studio release amidst an ongoing war with her previous label, Big Machine. This is Taylor Swift’s first album released by Republic, but that doesn’t stop similarities between this and her other works from sitting in plain sight. Lover is overdosed with breakup songs and the occasional love song, which at this point in time molds it into simply another record for haters to hate and Swifties to fit on their vinyl shelf.
Opener “I Forgot That You Existed” starts with a basic bubblegum pop bassline, sadly assuring us once again Swift holds no interest in returning to her country roots anytime soon. What’s often kept her recent pop albums afloat, however, has been her pen in divulging past relationships. Unfortunately, most of the wordplay is nothing spectacular, leaving dull lines such as “In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah”.
Alt-rock phenom St. Vincent has a writing credit on the superior follow-up “Cruel Summer”, not that it’s noticeable: in the pool of breakup songs across this LP, the “Masseduction” singer isn’t able to pump any of her steamy one-liners here. However, pulsating synths courtesy of Jack Antonoff help Taylor craft the LP’s best and least-annoying chorus.
The first three tracks focus on Swift’s love life, but “The Man” brings a welcome turn to the writing. The track takes a break from all the sappy stuff to pit double standards in our face. Seeing Swift in this element makes for the LP’s best writing by far, spitting relevant zingers like “If I was out flashing my dollars/I’d be a bitch, not a baller”. It comes at an interesting time in the star’s career surrounding her alleged money-hungry persona, but this song lands enough punches to get its point across. If only there had been more times Swift went out of her comfort zone like this.
Thoughts have already been made loud and clear for “ME!”, so we’ll confirm the context of the whole record doesn’t change any perceptions of the horrific lead single and leave it at that. The second single (and now head-scratching VMA winner) “You Need to Calm Down” showcases Swift trying to paint herself as some kind of LGBT equality trailblazer. Rhyming “mad” and “GLAAD” isn’t much more than a knee-slapper, and the “Shade never made anybody less gay” line has garnered mixed reactions from the LGBT community. Part of the frustration comes from knowing that there are plenty of songs similar in theme yet greater in quality, and it hurts to see flatter ones like this receive so much attention solely because a high-profile Top 40 star made it. The final nail in the coffin for both of these singles is the overly glossy production, an all too common complaint for this playlist.
Taylor had Red, her earlier works were golden, but Lover is completely beige. Despite a few outliers, it barely offers anything new to her library. There isn’t much to help it stand out in Swift’s catalogue- no cryptic “Look What You Made Me Do” videos to stir up the internet, nor earworm singles to snowball a massive rollout in the case of 1989. Lover is an album that’s just kind of… there.
SCAD Radio gives it a 6.8/10.
