Taylor Swift’s new album “Red” was released Oct. 22. Preceding the album, T-Swift let loose five singles, one of which has been on the radio for months and gaining momentum.
‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ showed a new style for Swift. With the new singles, starting with ‘Back Together,’ it’s become evident that her style has definitely evolved into the pop realm. ‘Back Together’ is one of those perfect girl-power songs to be blasted in the car and sung along to.
‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ was the fourth single from the album, and it’s definitely different from her previous and ever-evolving style. Swift seems to attempt a dubstep style sound here, and it halfway works. No lie, it’s a good song, but it’s just not in any way the Taylor Swift we’re used to. She’s evidently turned from country to pop based solely on these two singles.
The single ‘Red’ takes Taylor Swift back to her more prominently country roots. And I’d say that ‘Red’ is most likely to be the best song off the upcoming album because it’s beautiful. The song tells the story of a passionate love ended prematurely. “Losing him was blue like I’ve never known, missing him was dark grey all, all alone. Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met. But loving him was Red,” sings Swift passionately.
Her latest single, ‘State of Grace,’ has a pop sound and reminds me of the song ‘Sparks Fly’ off her preceding album. I liked ‘Sparks Fly,’ so I suppose that means I like ‘State of Grace’ as well. It’s yet another song about a “raging and wild” love which Swift experienced that changed her irrevocably.
‘Begin Again’ is a heartwarming song about love and starting over. “All love ever does is break and burn and end, but on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched it begin again,” Swift sings. It’s a beautiful song that tells a story, as most of Swift’s do. Also like most of Swift’s songs, they fit with many girl’s lives, which is one of those reasons that I recommend listening to Swift because she just gets life.
The early released singles were identified as the more pop-sounding songs because it’s songs like ‘All Too Well’ and ‘Treacherous’ that take Swift back to the country days.
And then there’s the moderately irritating straight-pop anthem ’22’. I can’t really say much other than it’s got a good beat, and it’s been one of the most popular songs on the album since its release.
Swift teamed up with two other artists for duets on this album. ‘The Last Time’ features Gary Lightbody, and it’s kind of good. Definitely slow and well done, but the song is somewhat profusely depressing.
The other duet was with popular British artist Ed Sheeran. They sound lovely together because Sheeran is basically just another flawless human that I’ll forever love and never know. But really, they sound great together in ‘Everything Has Changed’. It’s such a great duet.
Overall, 15 of the 16 songs on the deluxe edition of the album are about different boys and love experiences. T-Swift has obviously grown as an artist from her first album to the fourth, though she’s still reliable as the go-to artist for mushy breakup love jams.
