Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, dropped late Thursday night, after much anticipation from fans. But it has since sparked mixed reactions.
The album sheds the melancholia of The Tortured Poets Department in exchange for a mellow, synth-pop style with some soft rock elements that haven’t really been heard from her yet. Many find the new album to be fun, light and upbeat, with billboard calling it a “collection of songs that are immediately engrossing and among the most affecting of Swift’s career” and Forbes calling it a “Pop masterpiece”.
The album contains 12 tracks:
- The Fate of Ophelia
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Opalite
- Father Figure
- Eldest Daughter
- Ruin the Friendship
- Actually Romantic
- Wi$h Li$t
- Wood
- CANCELLED!
- Honey
- The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)
Tracks like The Fate of Ophelia and Opalite in particular are the cheerful, uplifting type that many fans hoped for upon the announcement of the album.
But other sources found the album to be poorly written and cringe-worthy. “The album isn’t terrible” writes the Guardian “It’s just nowhere near as good as it should be” While the Globe and Mail called it “fizzy, earwormy and not great”.
Whether you’re a die-hard Swift fan, or simply neutral, most people can agree that The Life of a Showgirl is a new direction for Swift. Although whether this is for better or worse is hard to say.
The Life of a Showgirl is now available for streaming on all major music platforms.
