Review - Taylor Swift - 1989

I never thought I’d have to actually review a Taylor Swift album, as they were always much more country than pop...until her last record Red came along. That one straddled to two so well, I almost wrote a long review, but didn’t quite get to it in time. Oh well, no matter. It was mostly a country album anyways, right?

Well, 1989 is no country album, no matter how much you want to see it that way. While I’m sure there are plenty of big fans of Taylor’s that will be upset with this fact, there are going to be millions of others who will hear the singer for the first time, thanks to her switch to a pure, electronic-based pop sound.

Making that switch was a dangerous move, but it paid off brilliantly, as 1989 (which is coincidentally the year I was also born--I guess it was just a good year, huh?) is truly one of the best pop albums of the year, hands down.

“Shake It Off” was a phenomenal beginning to a new era of Taylor Swift, and though I do like it quite a bit, it isn’t entirely representative of what else is on the superstar’s new record. Where “Shake” is based around actual percussion instruments and plenty of horns, the majority of 1989 is nothing but synths, with the occasional reference to a guitar thrown in for good measure.

The album is also chock full of potential singles, each one catchier than the last. Second single “Blank Space” surprised me a bit, as it really wasn’t even that high on my list of those that should have been sent out, but America certainly proved me wrong, didn’t they? The previously-released “Out Of The Woods” might have performed well, and other tracks like “Clean”, “New Romantics”, and especially “Style” are high contenders, and that’s just getting started.

I can’t believe how much I loved this album, and how seamless her transition from one genre to another was. I really have to hand it to Taylor, and I promise I won’t doubt her again.

Listen to: Every song on the album. Truly.

Buy