Taylor Swift - New Album: 'Lover' (Out 8/23/19)*

She's been hinting at sharing the "next chapter" of her life with her fans since last fall. Starting this weekend, she's been making cryptic posts on social media that have been causing fans to go wild with speculation, and now we finally have something more concrete.

She'll be covering the UK (and most likely US) April edition of Elle, available March 7, for which she has written a piece with her thoughts on what makes a great pop song.

Taylor Swift Pens Essay on Power of Music & Writing the Ultimate Pop Song

Hits Daily Double (Billboard's competitor) has also posted a rumour just an hour before the Elle announcement about how a "pop superstar" is going to be releasing something tomorrow night that will have a major impact on radio. They claimed it would be the Jonas Brothers, but that was most likely a red herring, so I'm expecting Taylor Swift's lead single from her 7th album to be released tomorrow night (midnight EST).

 

I'm still hoping for her to do something in a Singer/songwriter vein and get back closer to country. I may be in the minority on that, taking her whole fan base into consideration, but I think Taylor's greatest strength has always been her lyrics and her storytelling would be well-served by a more organic, stripped down, personal approach. I thought Reputation was by far her weakest album since her debut.

I'd like her to record an album of songs like "All Too Well" and "Better Man" (written by Swift for Little Big Town)--intimate, personal, mature. I have no interest in another album stuffed with tabloidy dance stuff like "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things."

She turns 30 this year. Her fan base is getting older too.

 

I hope she goes retro and stays away from country.

 

? Wouldn’t retro for Swift be country?

 

I like this perceptive quote from her essay:

"I’m highly biased, but I think that the way music can transport you back to a long-forgotten memory is the closest sensation we have to traveling in time."

I wish her continued success and happiness.

 

Automatic buy but hoping it is better than Reputation and she has some songs that are solo written.

 

On point and well said.

Half of the songs on Red shows how good she is as a songwriter.
The other half showed the more banal direction she was headed.

 

What I meant by "retro" is that she stays on her musical trajectory, but abandons some of the technology that is so common in today's pop music. In other words, real instruments.

 

Taylor Swift turning 30 years old this December is pretty hard to fathom, but when you think of it she's been around for quite a while. I remember hearing 'Teardrops On My Guitar' way back when I was in 7th grade, and of course songs like 'Love Story' and 'You Belong With Me' seem forever ago now too.

I've never been a fan but she's had one of the most impressive careers of any artist in the last 30 years. Nothing but respect. I'm actually looking forward to where she goes next.

 

It does seem like her upcoming music might be more in the vein of what you're hoping for based off her emphasis on personal lyrics in her essay and based off the songs she listed as examples. However, I'm not expecting it to be "country sounding" since she's been talking about adapting that style of lyricism to pop sounds. Of the songs she listed, "Cowboy Take Me Away" is the only country song, the rest are mostly on the pop-rock spectrum (or Americana in the case of Brandi Carlisle?), and just left her old country label (Big Machine) to join one that's mostly home to pop and hip hop artists (Republic). If she is the artist that's releasing a big radio single tomorrow night, it probably will be pop-leaning.

 

I'm not a huge fan of her music, but I like a few of her hits, starting in 2010, when she started moving toward pop music. I admire her as a person, and all that she has tried to do with regard to artist's rights and woman empowerment. I like that she is outspoken and doesn't care what we think.

 

Seconded. Circa 2010-2011, she was actually one of the new(ish) artists I was most excited about, on the strength of her lyrics and simply but hooky melodies. I've been less and less interested with each successive album and wasn't even able to finish Reputation. I'm not hearing any memorable melodies, and her lyrics have fallen from being honest and evocative expressions of universal emotions to being petty, self-exculpating, narcissistic swipes at other celebrities. Caring about Swift's personal life wasn't a prerequisite to enjoying something like "Last Kiss," but it seems (to me at least) to be required for her most recent material. One is art, the other is just self-aggrandizement that perpetuates the worst aspects of our celebrity culture.

In that, she reminds me of John Lennon in the Seventies, making music that presented a one-sided, victimized view of life that didn't offer much intrinsic meaning to anyone who didn't care about--and wasn't prepared to believe that no wrong could be done by--JohnandYoko.

 

It’s now a Kacey Musgraves world and Taylor’s just living in it.

 

I really have no idea what to expect. She's shown that she likes pop, punk-pop, rock, country, hip-hop, R&B, Americana, indie, folk. Even a lot of modern day country, rock and indie music has moved away from using strictly just real instruments, for example Bon Iver and Kacey Musgraves.

 

I don't think that's an entirely accurate assessment of Reputation. I see it as largely chronicling the way she got burnt by celebrity life and eventually finding peace in a more low-profile relationship. The getting burnt part does see her putting on a mask as a sort of defense mechanism and lashing out, but she does gradually peel that mask off. There are still references to the way celebrity has impacted her on songs like "Delicate", "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" and "Call It What You Want" but she wrote those songs from a more genuine perspective.

She also admits to having selfish impulses on "Gorgeous" and feeling some guilt about carrying through with them on "Getaway Car".

If her latest album was written during mostly mid 2017 to early 2019, that was a time when she kept a low profile which allowed her to avoid negative headlines (and feuds), so I don't think celebrity culture will feature very prominently in her upcoming album.

Close to a year ago, she said about Reputation
"This has definitely been my most cathartic album. After I finished it, it was like now I can write regular songs again."


How do you feel about 1989 songs like "All You Had To Do Was Stay", "Style", "Out of the Woods", "Clean" and "Wonderland"?

 

I actually am not a fan at all.
However I did like her direction on 1989.
Out Of The Woods for me is her best song to date.
I enjoyed the 80s synthpop feel to 1989, but Reputation I didn’t much care for, and the songs were just not as melodic.
I think she has it in her to be a decent writer, but her voice is very thin, and honestly Kacey Musgraves has way more talent, better voice, better songwriter, and doesn’t get involved in all that girl squad nonsense.
I think her time as the best selling artist in music might have ended.

 

Points taken—and like I said, I had a really hard time getting past the musical aspect of the album, too. I’m not in a position to question what the artist feels is cathartic, but I’m surprised she thought this was a more cathartic album than “Red” or “Speak Now,” both of which really had some soul-baring moments.

The 1989 tracks you mentioned are a mixed bag for me. I think Style and Clean are among her best work—Style for its perfect marriage of musical and lyrical hooks, and Clean for its mature, poignant lyrics. Both of those songs also have unforgettable melodies. “Stay” to me is an album track—not bad, but missing that certain something that makes it a standout. Don’t care for the “stay!” background vocals, but that’s not a songwriting issue. “Woods,” to me, falls more into the “feverish dramatization of tabloid-ready subject matter with a subpar melody” category. I understand that I’m apparently in the minority on that one, but I can’t get into the songs that have what feel like, to me, breadcrumbs specifically there for people who follow her personal life in the press. Wonderful I barely remember, so I listened to it again. My reaction is, it’s okay, but also not too flight Swift.

My dark horse favorite on 1989 is How You Get The Girl, which I think is a stone cold classic pop song. I even covered that one with my little ramshackle band.

 

I just want a better album than Reputation. Reputation aspires to be better than it actually is. She's clearly capable of making a great album. People were shocked that a she won her first Grammy with a country album in Red. When she won her second Grammy with 1989, hardly anyone was surprised. The issue with Reputation is that it's filled with tropes that can be found on just about every pop album that has been released over the last 15 to 20 years. She's a good song writer, there isn't really a need to go the route of droning tones and beats of "...Ready For It." The best part of "...Ready For It" is the bridge, the verse and chorus just seem like filler for live dance routines for her eventual tour.

 

Red actually didn't win any Grammys, somewhat famously so because of the expression she made when the announcer made everyone think she won when it would actually be Daft Punk's album. Her first Grammy was four years earlier with her second album, Fearless.

I don't really see "Out of the Woods" as a tabloid song, unless you're referring to the "twenty stitches in a hospital room" line which she drops with little explanation, but is that really so different from "I ran off the plane, that July 9th" on Last Kiss? I mostly see the song as being about a passionate relationship that cause a lot of stress because it seems it just wasn't meant to be, which makes her realize she should let it go even though there's a part of her that doesn't want to. The accident she references in the bridge was just where the climax of all that stress. I like the lyrics and the passionate vocals (especially on the mp3 from the tour movie), as well as the big, epic atmospheric style production, although I agree the melody isn't as danceable as on other songs of hers.

"How You Get The Girl" is not the most popular choice, I think mainly because the lyrics aren't that special, but I agree it's very catchy with great melodies. I think my dark horse song from 1989 would have to be "You Are In Love".

 

She reflects on some of her experiences from the last few years and opens up about some things we didn't know for her Elle US cover.

Taylor Swift on 30 Things She Learned Before Her 30th Birthday - Taylor Swift Turns 30

 

I might have jumped the gun slightly on when her lead single will come out, but her Elle photoshoots/articles were still hinting at new music - she now has a countdown to April 26 on her website's homepage.
Taylor Swift

It's a safe bet that he lead single will be coming that day.

 

This is early for her. Usually it’s at least a couple of years between albums.


Reputation took ages to grow on me. I still don’t think it comes close to 1989.. However, I look forward to her new stuff.

 

I love Reputation and welcome whatever comes next. Great songwriter and a generous performer. She adds a lot to our culture. I genuinely admire her.

 

"I think these days, people are reaching out for connection and comfort in the music they listen to."

Good article, though isn't that what people have been reaching out for in music for the last 900+ years? "These days" covers a long ass time!

I wish she hadn't brought in Max Martin, though.

 

Yeah, based off previous albums, you'd expect a late summer single and fall album. I think the album is still coming in July at the earliest, and possibly as late as October though.

Possible reasons for the schedule being moved up

Streaming dominance has messed up release schedules. In the past, including with Taylor's first five albums, a big name artist could release 5-6 successful singles per album and only the lead single would have to be released prior to the album itself. Now even releasing one successful single more than a month after the album's release seems to be a challenge even for artists like Drake, Cardi B or The Weeknd...

That's because Spotify emphasizes novelty and hype (often at the expense of quality), and artists have adapted by releasing more of their singles over a longer period of time prior to the album's release. So it's still possible that Taylor will release her album in October, 5-6 months after her lead single, since many other artists have had similar or longer lead-up periods.

The downside of that is that artists don't get a chance to respond to feedback from fans and music critics over what the favorites are.

The 13 months since Delicate was released is also the longest gap in time between singles of her career, even more than between 1989 and reputation since 1989 had great legs with New Romantics peaking April 30, 2016 and then there was I Don't Wanna Live Forever in early 2017 to bridge the gap.

She probably didn't release a 5th single in late summer/early fall 2018 to ensure she ended the era on a successful note since have late singles be hits is difficult, especially since she was in the middle of changing labels at the time. She could've released a soundtrack song or feature early this year after switching to Republic Records too, but I get the sense that she's been eager to move on from "reputation" and start something new for a while now.

It also avoids Taylor and Adele stepping on each others toes since Adele is expected to release at the end of the year, and avoids interfering with her Cats promo since that movie will come out in December. Taylor likes to release albums shortly after the Grammy cut-off which is usually October 1st, but this year got moved up to September 1st, so maybe she'll release her album in early September.

The last factor is Christmas sales. In the past, a lot of parents would buy their daughters her albums for Christmas, and the Christmas sales boost was probably upwards of 500,000 copies in the US alone for her earlier albums. However, her hardcore fans don't wait for their parents to buy them the album, they buy it right when it comes out and it feels like those are the only people who buy albums these days.

The only thing that seems a bit off is touring. I think it's too late to start touring this summer, but starting spring 2020 would be a pretty long gap from when the album was at the front of people's minds if she's releasing soon. So maybe the album will still come in Sept-Oct rather than Jul-Aug, or maybe she'll start touring earlier too, by performing in arenas and indoor stadiums, or in tropical areas (she has a lot of fans in Asia, and could potentially do shows in a couple cities in South America).