After two years of Taylor Swift’s reigning folksy aesthetic and sound, the first synth-pop notes of “Lavender Haze” ushered in a new era. On October 21, 2022, Midnights, Swift’s 10th studio album debuted with 186 million streams. The album merges the upbeat riffs of 1989 and Lover with the dark electropop of Reputation, playing with voice modulations in tracks like “Midnight Rain,” “Question…?,” and “Dear Reader” to create a familiarly experimental experience for both old and new Swifties.
However, Midnights‘ novelty exists not in its sound but in its lyrics. Although not quite as lyrically innovative as folklore and evermore, Midnights is perhaps Swift’s most raw album since Red. Tracks like the lead single “Anti-Hero” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” are vulnerable in a way Swift hasn’t yet been in her art.
In “Anti-Hero,” lyrics like “when my depression works the graveyard shift/all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room,” “I wake up screaming from dreaming/One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving/’cause you got tired of my scheming,” and “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror,” overtly speak to Swift’s struggles with mental illness and insecurities in her relationships in a way that many college students can relate to.
In “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” lyrics like “I search the party of better bodies” and “I hosted parties and starved my body” continue the same themes introduced in “Anti-Hero.” The end of the song twists them optimistically, however, with lines like “there were pages turned with the bridges burned” and “everything you lose is a step you take” showing how loss can create new opportunities.
Gone are the fictitious love triangles and ivy-covered stone houses of folklore and evermore; Midnights represents a return to Swift’s largely autobiographical songwriting. Unlike her previous discography, however, Midnights’s stories span across her entire career rather than her most recent experiences. Many of the songs on the album are eerily reminiscent of the sound and substance of her earlier works, calling back to the pain of her failed relationships alongside songs celebrating her current one.
Some are obvious. “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” gives an exact age that places it on the Speak Now timeline. “High Infidelity” mentions a specific 2016 date. Others are harder to place. All are no less hauntingly hurt than the songs written when the experiences were fresh. Just listen to “Maroon,” “Bejeweled,” and “Bigger Than The Whole Sky.”
Joe Alwyn is not absent from this album, though. Swift’s current six-year relationship has been the focus of her tracklist since 2017’s Reputation, and Midnights is no exception. Filled with breathy odes like “Lavender Haze,” “Snow on the Beach,” “Sweet Nothings,” and “Paris,” Midnights is perfect for any of us who happen to be in love. Tracks like “Labyrinth” and “Glitch” are for the anxieties that come with falling for someone, whereas “Mastermind” and “Anti-Hero” explore how Swift’s public perception impacts her relationships. “The Great War” likens trials that partners face to World War I, validating the hard work that goes into nurturing a long-term relationship.
Put together, Swift’s latest album is a series of vignettes from throughout her life, presenting new retellings of old sounds and stories. There’s an anthem for every college student in it. From healing post-breakup like in “Midnight Rain,” to getting ready for a night out with “Vigilante Sh*t,” to simply getting through each day with “Anti-Hero” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” Midnights reminds us that we’re not the only one who feels like the problem and that we “can face this.”