Taylor Swift’s new album promotes personal growth
by Viviana Rodriguez
picture courtesy of pitchfork.com
Following the release of her sixth album, Reputation, Taylor Swift’s new studio album offers pop rock sounds while conveying maturity and honesty through Swift’s songwriting.
Her new album, Lover, released Aug. 23, expresses the ups and downs of love. The brighter tones in this album differ from the darker ones of her previous album. It is an album that will appeal to fans who relate to the songs about personal growth.
Swift’s title track, “Lover,” offers a romantic, old-school ballad vibe. The song is about her significant other, Joe Alwyn, specifically the love that evolved since the summer they met. Swift expresses that she sees a future with him using lyrics like, “I’ve loved you three summers now honey, but I want ‘em all.”
Lover features 18 tracks with “Me!” being the album’s lead single, featuring Brendon Urie. It combines bubblegum pop and synth-pop. Swift emphasizes her happiness and shows her confidence with themes that focus on self-affirmation in lyrics like, “Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that you’ll never find another like me.” The single marks the end of Swift’s previous dark era setting a new path for her. Released on April 26 with its accompanying music video, the song peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100.
The album conveyed maturity and honesty through Swift’s songwriting as well as a sense of personal growth, catering teenagers and other romantics. The cheerful nature of the album truly beckons the listeners to sing along.
Closing her album with the ballad, “Daylight,” Swift shows a mature understanding of love, using smooth vocals to reflect on her past. She delivers the message that it is time to embrace the light, learning to trust and to move on from a time of darkness.
On Feb. 24, Swift posted a photo of seven palm trees on her Instagram account and later confirmed that was the day she finished the album. Lover is Swift’s first album with Republican Records, who she signed with in 2019 and is her first album that she owns, unlike her previous ones. It is now the biggest selling U.S. album of the year and considered one of her best by many.
In an interview with Vogue, Swift described her album as a “love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory.”
The album is available for streaming on Spotify and is available for purchase at various retail stores, online and at Apple Music.