We’re back, with Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’. Perfect pop, as a friend of mine, said in the pub. After the agro and Taylor-angst of the overproduced ‘Reputation’, we are back with a ‘1989’ style (geddit?), stripped back album that is altogether more accessible. I note that Ryan Adams didn’t re-imagine ‘Reputation’ in the same way he did ‘1989’, mainly because of the over-produced and over the top vibe, but I can see him mulling over ‘Lover’ on his way back from his current abyss.
Having said all that, Taylor is still quite acidic when she needs to be, for example, on ‘The Man’ she sings; “wonder if I’d get there quicker if I were a man’. But where is she running to? She is the biggest artist on the planet, writing her own songs and selling out stadiums at 400 pounds a ticket. More Taylor-angst in ‘I Forgot that you Existed’, a brilliant, quirky opener with popcorn, schoolyards and the greatest line of the year so far, surely; ‘It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference’. Hilarious; it’s about Kanye West but who cares great fun? Speaking of quirky, I’m sure Idris Elba is in ‘London Boy’!
The Archer seems to be about trust in a relationship but I won’t go through all 18 tracks. There are
plenty of pauses and changes of pace on the album and what stands out to me are the underlying messages in individual songs, ‘Miss Americana…’ is a very clever song, I think. Then it is juxtaposed by the jaunty ‘Paper Rings’.
Taylor really has really moved on since ‘Fearless’ where, for example, the equally wonderful Sheryl Crow has not with her latest release ‘Threads’, which feels like a collection of forgettable country songs.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1. I Forgot That You Existed *****
2. Cruel Summer *****
3. Lover *****
4. The Man ****
5. The Archer *****
6. I Think He Knows ***
7. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince *****
8. Paper Rings ****
9. Cornelia Street *****
10. Death By a Thousand Cuts ****
11. London Boy ****
12. Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks) ****
13. False God ***
14. You Need to Calm Down *****
15. Afterglow ****
16. ME! (feat. Brendon Urie) ***
17. It’s Nice to Have a Friend ****
18. Daylight ****
______________________________________________________________________________________
Album – Lover
Artist – Taylor Swift
Released – 23 August 2019
Download These At Least – Cruel Summer, The Archer, Paper Rings, Cornelia Street, London Boy, You need to Calm Down
Source – Tidal MQA
Player – Auralic Vega G1
Amplification – Anthem STR integrated amplifier with Atlas Eos dd
Output – Focal Kanta No.1 with REL T/5i
Cables – QED Supremus
Tracks – 18
Time – 61′
My Rating – 4.2 (out of 5)
_______________________________________________________________________________________