‘Midnights’ Album Review from a Non-Swiftie

It is no secret that over the course of her 16-year career, Taylor Swift has managed to cultivate a uniquely devoted, loving, and ever-passionate fan base (Encyclopedia Britannica). ‘Swifties’. No doubt you have heard of them before. Perhaps you are one? A Swiftie is defined as a person who “fangirls over anything and everything Taylor Swift does” (Urban Dictionary). The ‘Swiftie’ phenomenon has swept not only the Branksome community but the world—flooding pop culture and music with endless love for all things Taylor.

As of September 2022, Swift’s fan base had a combined total of 313 million followers spanning Instagram and Twitter (India TV News). While not all 313 million followers qualify for the label of a ‘Swiftie’, this powerhouse of a fan base is second only to Beyonce’s Beyhive (Entertainment Weekly). At the announcement of Swift’s new album Midnights at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, millions of Swifties around the world were sent into a frenzy, anxiously awaiting the album’s release.

As a non-Swiftie, I thought I would try to experience the Midnights album to its greatest effect, by listening to it at midnight. 12 am: a time notorious for being when our most troubled emotions, fears, and anxieties come to mind, spiralling and manifesting in destructive ways. Midnight is a time when these feelings are most prominent, and when alone in your dark bedroom, they can oftentimes feel as though they consume you. I believe Swift’s lyrics effectively capture the depths of these emotions through all 13 tracks of the album. After giving each song many listens, I’ve come to the conclusion that although catchy and lyrically brilliant, Taylor’s 10th original studio album, Midnights, has not met my expectations. 

Any long-time Taylor Swift listener is bound to notice that she continues to evolve her sound with every new release. But for me, the moody synth-pop style that makes up the Midnights album quickly becomes repetitive and generic after several songs that more or less, sound the same. As Swift enters into this stage of musical maturity and steps away from the young, ‘America’s darling’ image, her sound continues to change. For me, this album lacked uniqueness and musicality. I feel it is missing instrumental variety and richness that with more attention to composition, could have been stronger musically.

Nevertheless, Swift’s strength has always been her lyrics. Time and time again, her masterful words shock listeners with their utter truth, wit, and the strong resonance of their meaning. For this reason, I decided to delve deep into the three songs that stood out to me the most: Mastermind, Sweet Nothing, and You’re On Your Own, Kid.

Mastermind resonates with me for its gritty message of shaping, working for, and holding on to what you want in love and relationships; going for what (or who) you want and making it happen for yourself. Swift confronts the role that women always seem to take on in relationships: “You see all the wisest women had to do it this way / ‘Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover’s game.” After hearing this lyric, I was immediately grasped by the thought of being a pawn; used by others for their own gain, and how vulnerable this reality is. Swift goes on to contradict the idea that men hold all the power in relationships, singing about how she shapes her experiences with love in the ways she desires. The song also plays to the sadness of wanting to be loved and feeling like one must ‘scheme’ in order to achieve this goal; ceasing to realise that you deserve to be loved without having to beg for it. In this three-minute song, Taylor reaffirms not only her own, but the listener’s worthiness.  

Sweet Nothing spoke to me with its message of never being quite good enough and the bitterness of just falling short every time. As Swift reflects on her early reality in the music industry, she tells the story of navigating the beginning of her career and entering a new and confusing world. Swift conveys her experience of feeling like she was getting nowhere and the bittersweetness of “making it” but still not feeling good enough — hence ‘sweet nothing’. For me, it was the line: “And the voices they implore / ‘You should be doing more’” in which Swift articulates the feeling I myself experience, of never doing anything quite good enough. The harsh feeling of always needing to do more, be more, achieve more, with success somehow always feeling out of reach. 

Finally, You’re On Your Own, Kid explores the loneliness of trying to make your way in the world, as Swift transforms from being a naive kid to an experienced artist over the course of the song. You’re On Your Own, Kid, chronicles Swift in her journey to success, from boyfriends to body image issues, dealing with record companies and powerful music industry figures, all without anyone by her side. There is an overt sense of loneliness in the song as this small-town girl navigates life on her own, finding her way in the big city. The song ends with Swift’s powerful realisation that she was able to make it through. There is a distinct double message in the way she comforts both herself and her listeners with the line: “You’ve got no reason to be afraid / You’re on your own kid / You can face this”. This line cuts across the generations, playing to both older listeners who can empathise with her story and young people who have yet to experience life. This song is an intimate window into Swift’s internal dialogue, revealing the new, the scary, and the disappointing times in her life, each instance only making her wiser. In the end, the message of ‘I have done this, so you can do it,’ fills me with a sense of hope. 

I approached listening to Midnights with scepticism. Though I can’t say it’s one of my favourite albums, ​I have to admit that I was truly captivated by how the lyrics speak directly to many of my current life experiences. Whether you are a Swiftie or not, there is bound to be something in Midnights, be it in the lyrics, the messaging, or the emotions she captures, that will speak to you. In a beautifully honest way, Taylor Swift has once again managed to connect with those beyond her fandom, including me.