I have been WAITING to make this one. You best believe I was staring at the clock at 11:59pm on October 26th, waiting for it to strike midnight. I popped my airpods in, turned the lights off, and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. I was bracing myself for songs that could either send me into a spontaneous dance party or an immediate mental breakdown. It definitely ended up being the latter, which is honestly what I was hoping for. It’s not a Taylor Swift song without a little bit of heart-wrenching.
I think 1989 is one of those albums that you either love or hate. Some people think it sounds like a Kids Bop soundtrack that would have likely been played at Justice back in the day, but others (myself included) think it’s the perfect hype-up album that you find yourself strutting across campus to. You can probably see in which direction I am leaning already, but nevertheless I am going to give my full review of the re-recorded and vault tracks of Taylor’s new release.
re-recorded tracks
Bangers
- Welcome To New York
- Blank Space
- All You Had To Do Was Stay
- Shake It Off
- Bad Blood
- Wildest Dreams
- How You Get The Girl
- Clean
- Wonderland
- I Know Places
- You Are In Love
- New Romantics
Flops
- Style
- Out Of The Woods
- I Wish You Would
- This Love
Vault Tracks
1. “SL*T!”
Rating: 7/10
Favorite verse: “In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman”
This song is not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was going to align with Shake It Off, where she would shoot down the haters who shamed her for dating too many people. It took on a much slower and calmer tempo than I would have hoped, but the unexpectedly sweet message of the song was satisfying at the same time. I enjoy the lyrics, but there’s not much about this song that really makes it stand out to me.
2. Say Don’t go
Rating: 8.5/10
Favorite verse: “Why’d you have to twist the knife? Walk away and leave me bleeding'”
This one is amazing. It’s one of those that makes you want to collapse to your knees and shake your fists in agony (even if you can’t relate to it). Many of us girls in college have experienced the heartbreak that comes with a failed situationship, so I think it hits home for a lot of people, and definitely appeals to the hopeless romantics.
3. Now that we don’t talk
Rating: 9.5/10
Favorite verse: “I call my mom, she said that it was for the best”
I absolutely adore this song. I docked half a point, though, because why is it only two and a half minutes?! I love how she included the desperate calls to her mom, because I’d be willing to bet a lot of us have made those calls too many times to count. Taylor did a really good job of describing the pain that comes with someone toxic leaving her life, but also the subconscious knowledge that it was for the best. I think this song is going to be on my Spotify wrapped.
4. Suburban Legends
Rating: 7/10
Favorite verse: “When you hold me, it holds me together, and you kiss me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever”
This song is adorable, and is definitely different than a lot of her 1989 tracks. It kind of reminds me of “Timeless” or “Mine” in a way, because she sings about a legendary couple that has this powerful kind of love. I think because it reminded me of so many other songs, though, it didn’t really wow me.
5. Is it over now?
Rating: 10/10
Favorite verse: “You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor”
This one was powerful. It’s very lyrically detailed, as it touches on a very fiery but toxic relationship, and involves yet another incident of cheating. The anger and passion she sings with make me mad just listening to it, even though I have nothing to relate it to. It’s a prime breakup song that I think is most people’s favorite of the vault tracks. I bet Harry Styles (who this song is allegedly about) is kicking himself right now.