A Taylor Swift Fan’s Thoughts on Midnights [My Opinion]

I really would consider myself a Swiftie! I mean I remember in middle school when Red came out, and I was so over the moon for that album! Then while I did lean away from Taylor after 1989, and having her just in the background, Lover really reminded me how incredible of a pop star Taylor is! But man oh man when Folklore and Evermore came out, I realized those two albums now own my soul.

So you can see how long I have been anticipating Taylor’s newest album Midnights! And while I am excited and am learning to love it, I am having a hard time wondering where I rank the album on my list of favorites. So, hear me out and walk with me on my explanation as to why, and maybe you agree, or have ideas to share.

I know that Midnights wasn’t going to be like Folklore and Evermore, but I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss new alternative folk songs from her until the album came out. I knew this would happen though, and with rumors and speculation I was expecting this album to be the lighter version of Reputation, and to that extent, I think it did a wonderful job (the album feels like a transition from Reputation to Lover, or right after Lover).

I will say I love that the album starts out with Lavender Haze! That is such a great song it is so upbeat and it felt like a twist on old Taylor (the beginning of the chorus was giving me Cornelia Street and something else). And Maroon has really grown on me too with that amazing chorus, and I can say the exact same thing for Anti-Hero. Other favorites that I can’t get enough of are Midnight Rain and Karma, and while I do love Snow on The Beach I am so sad because we barely get to hear Lana Del Rey’s beautiful voice.

Now, the rest of the album just kind of felt okayy (yes with two y's) to me: it wasn’t bad, it was good, but it wasn’t like “OMG we have been waiting for this! This is it.” Some things I caught online that have kind of stuck with me run along the lines of while the album is good, we didn’t necessarily get anything new out of Taylor. I think this means while they are all new songs, they felt like old Taylor, like she stepped back. Again, this is interesting and I go back and forth on this because there are moments in the album that are really good, but some lyrics and production choices didn’t really make a step up from her previous work.

I do however want to play devil’s advocate in my own opinion. I think I need to remember that this is different from Folklore and Evermore, and it would be more like Lover and Reputation. I did like it in that sense because we got more pop Taylor, but this made me realize, how much I love Folklore and Evermore. I also want to note I prefer the 3 am version because I like a lot of those songs more than others on the original release.

I think Taylor Swift really unlocked and opened the door to something beautiful when she made Folklore and Evermore. I mean the production, the sounds, the vocals, and the lyricism, it all just blends so beautifully and helps create such a story. I may be biased because I lean toward more alternative music for taste, but hey those albums are just so good!

In summary, I still like Midnights and will be listening to it, just not as much as Folklore and Evermore. I also wanted to wait a bit to post this because after sitting with this album for a couple of days I have grown to like it more, and have grown to understand it more. I think if I were to rank the albums from favorite to least favorite Folklore and Evermore are tied for 1st, then Reputation and Midnights flipping between second and third place, with Lover in fourth (even though False God is my favorite song of all time). The rest I can't really remember my order, but you know.

With all that being said, I still love Taylor and I am still excited to see what she has in store (possibly a TV of Speak Now hinted through the Bejeweled music video!?). Let me know what you think of the album! Do you agree or disagree with some points? What are your favorites? Let me know on our app!