Sounds of the ‘Lover’ Album: This is Taylor Swift’s New Era
After months of excitement and build up, the day is here. Taylor Swift releases the full length album known as ‘Lover.’ A sense of excitement that’s really been going on since April, the month in which Taylor put out the first single on this highly anticipated (and talked of… scrutinized… judged… inspected for clues… [basically you fill in the blank]) seventh studio album. Friday, the 23rd of August marks the premiere that gives us the Sounds of the Lover album!
Taylor has already been speaking publicly on the eve of her album release, sharing thoughts on her favorite songs, what some of them mean to her, and of course, she dropped the colorful music video for the title track. A video she appears to draw inspiration from a through previous lyric (‘And so it goes, you two are dancing in a snow globe round and round…”).
Up until now, we’ve already heard four of the tracks from her now-released 18-track album list. Of those four, I have personal favorites, and some thoughts on what I’ve heard (the most of) from Lover.
As I spoke to in prior Taylor Swift blog posts, I’m sad that she’s caving to the pressure that she become “political.” Unless you haven’t been paying attention to her music or platform, we already know what Taylor’s political stand is, and how she feels about hot-topic issues. Her music is also very grown up, which I don’t take much issue with given she has grown up. That said, I’m still enjoying what she’s released so far.
Fan-Girl Discussion: #TS7 and ‘Lover’ is Here!
I’m also 100% okay to admit that yes tonight is a late night of blogging since I’m waiting on the full album drop.
My reason? This, of course! I’m typing away on this post to share my “first impression” thoughts on the other 14 tracks that comprises Lover, an album Taylor described as a “heart shaped album.” Because one has to wait up for the midnight release, right?
Of the first four I’ve heard (and let’s be real, listened to on repeat after repeat), ‘The Archer’ or ‘Lover’ is my favorite. They’re healing and dreamy, vulnerable and emotionally sweet. For me, ‘ME!’ is another favorite in a much different way. Bad rap or not, I like that it’s a lighthearted, playful song, and as Taylor says, it’s purposefully written to be so.
Without further ado, here are some of my thoughts, some of which will likely change.
Sounds of the Lover Album: The Songs
1: I Forgot That You Existed | This first track is definitely a flirty, sassy track to begin TS7.
2: Cruel Summer
3: Lover | Beautiful and romantic, this does seem to sum up the overall theme of TS7. (As others point out, there also does seem to be a slight glimpse of the ‘Red’ era Taylor in its tone.)
Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?
– Taylor Swift, Lover
4: The Man | Not my kind of song, but again, that’s likely because it’s more of a political song.
5: The Archer | Vulnerable, healing with plenty of truth in its lyrics, this one is a solid addition.
6: I Think He Knows | Not a favorite, but the “snaps” in the opening adds lots of fun.
7: Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince | Another non-instant favorite, but it’s certainly a very story-driven lyrical piece.
8: Paper Rings | Like so many of the songs, this one is super pop-y! In many ways, on my first listen, many songs sound similar. (But… I think I kinda love the “bop” of this one.)
9: Cornelia Street | Lyrically, this one is like a bittersweet story.
10: Death by a Thousand Cuts
11: London Boy | Really pretty cute…
12: Soon You’ll Get Better | Haven’t listened to this one as yet, but in Taylor’s words it’s a “patchwork quilt of emotions” that sounds as if it’s a very personal song to her family since they made the decision together to put it on this album. I can guess what it’s about, and she also says it’s one of the songs she’s most proud of.
13: False God
14: You Need to Calm Down | Again, not a favorite. I do like that it’s so cheery, but it’s all a little “too much” for me.
15: Afterglow
16: ME! | This one has a similar vibe as YNTCD, and while I don’t think it’d ever be in my top ten of Taylor Swift favorites, it IS a fun song when you view it through the spectrum its meant to be.
17: It’s Nice to Have a Friend | Again, another one that’s sweet; it’s like a wall of memories.
18: Daylight | According to Taylor, this was going to be the album title for quite a while until she wrote and recorded Lover.
There we go! A brief “first impression” wrap up on some of the 18 tracks on Taylor’s new ‘Lover’ album. As is always the case with a TSwift release, I suspect even those I like at first listen will grow on me with each repeat, and oftentimes, those I don’t immediately peg as a favorite grow in time too. That’s just how an album by this veteran artist and I seem to get along.
Also, who noticed all of the old lyric throwbacks?
Sounds of the 'Lover' Album: This is Taylor Swift's New Era! In which we discuss the new Lover album from #TaylorSwift Share on XBut now I’m curious about you! Which of these songs do you like best? Do you have a standout favorite from these new songs? Do you like one she put out prior to the full album? What about the new video? Or that thing she addressees about re-recording old albums!? Comment down below with all of those thoughts!
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I like TS but I’m not generally a person who follows releases religiously (for music anyway) so I didn’t actually realize her album was dropping ? BUT I just finished my first listen through and starting my second one now. I like the overall sound of it but it’s definitely a lot more more upbeat pop compared to her previous two albums. I still enjoyed a lot on here though! I think of all the songs I’ve already replayed Cornelia Street the most ? I’m a sucker for that kinda song. I didn’t know the backstory of Soon You’ll Get Better, but after reading your post I’ve listened to it again and got hella teary! I think quite a few of these are going to grow on me over time lol
Taylor is pretty much the only artist who’s album releases I tack. That said, I do like MANY other artists. SAME, Dini! That’s usually the way it is with her songs. I like some on first blush (a lot), but the longer I listen, and the more I learn, the more I like them. I remember really liking ‘Blank Space,’ but the more I learned about it (that Taylor wrote it as a kind of “joke” about all of the headlines and serial dater comments that have been made about her), it makes it all the better in a kind of irony way. Glad you stopped by and shared your thoughts!!
Same, Rissi! I think that’s what makes me love her songs even more — all the easter eggs, and learning about her inspo for songs and what she’s really singing about. It’s always more complex than I expect and I love it ? I’ve already been playing her songs non-stop since the weekend and I’m trying to slow myself down so I don’t get sick of it so soon ?
I liked some of hers this morning!!! I don’t see The Man as political? She said she’s been writing to write this song for ages, and she finally figured out how, expressing what it would be like if she were a man. I really liked Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince. This one is a political song. I forgot what she said about it but you can check it out on Spotify. There’re short storylines for some songs if you just scroll down once you play the song :)
Neat; I didn’t know Spotify has short stories! I’ll have to take a look. I haven’t listened must to ‘Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,’ but did see MANY assessments of it as a politically charged song. In fact, I also see many critics liken it to some of her earlier work in terms of it throwing back to high school.
I’m surprised how much I like this album so far!! I think my favourites are London Boy, I forgot that you existed, Calm Down, Cornelia Street and Lover. Thought it was going to be all a bit mushy and dreary but it’s fun. She’s very keen on this new guy – I love how happy she is, but if they break up i’m sure she’ll do an amazing heartbreak album!
Isn’t ‘London Boy’ fun? I like its upbeat vibe. ‘Lover’ is a good song; definitely romantic and mushy, but in a FUN way! I really appreciate that this album is more fun that her previous one, but I still love “1989” and I think “Reputation” is still quite good in certain ways. She does seem really happy, doesn’t she? I’m glad for her. :)
YAY!! Another 18 new TSwift songs to discover and discuss, and another awesome post to do it with!!
I’ve gotta say, overall I already like this album SO much more than Reputation, and I’ve only just read through the lyrics so far! And while it seems she has continued to write more mature lyrics than I’m 100% comfortable with, there are 5 songs I am really excited to listen to: Lover, of course, Cornelia Street (which kind of puts me in mind of her Tim McGraw song actually), Paper Rings, It’s Nice to Have a Friend (I see a few parallels to Mary’s Song with the theme for this one), and Daylight (getting very strong vibes of Begin Again with this one). Lastly, just reading the lyrics for Soon You’ll Get Better got me feeling weepy, and reminded me very strongly of Best Day and Never Grow Up, so yes I definitely agree with you about all the lyric throwbacks she has going on!
Thanks again for another great post!
RIGHT!? I was reading some articles this afternoon about the songs to read the critics search for clues. One article I thought REACHES, but some were interesting.
This album is 100% adult. In some ways I understand this progression because Taylor IS an adult now. She’s changed, she grows and what once worked for her, probably won’t any more. On the other hand, I do miss the ‘Love Story’ and ‘Enchanted’ vibe of her songwriting. Did you like the songs you listened to? I hope so! There are flaws, but I think overall, I’ll like MOST of this album. Taylor is supposedly going to re-record her old albums, so that’ll be interesting… I just hope she keeps the lyrics and tone of the songs the same!
THANK YOU for reading, Kristy.
I’m in that exact same place that you described; while I totally get why the tone and content of her songs have steadily become more explicit and less sweet, I will ALWAYS place songs such as ‘Love Story’ and ‘Begin Again’ at the top of my favourites list. It’s interesting though, the fact that I LOVE so many songs from her 1989 album (most of which could be considered quite mature), and yet I’ve not been able to make even the slightest connection with any of the songs from Reputation or Lover… sigh.
I have given several of her new songs a chance, and unfortunately, the only one I actually managed to listen to all the way through is ‘Cornelia Street’, which I see also made it to the top of your ranking list for this album! I agree as well that it will be VERY interesting to see what she does with her old songs!