Here’s a fun thought experiment - is Taylor Swift creating a new version of the blues? Her music isn’t technically that similar to the blues, but there’s an element of cathartic expression in the self-confessional sad bedroom pop genre she’s spearheading that reminds me of the blues. It’s made up of new topics and new voices, but the main joy to be found is in the music, in the hope for better days expressed by the major chords and sometimes the lyrics. That’s the blues, baby. We’re in music’s sad girl blues-reinvention era, and it’s resonating with tons of people around the world. And like the blues, the downcast vibes of these songs isn’t just complaining - it’s tinged with hope, images of overcoming whatever’s got you down by becoming a badass, as in “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?”.

I feel like this theory has the potential to make everyone on the internet mad at the same time. Taylor Swift sings Gen Z’s version of the blues. Send all complaints to my agent.

My only musical issue with this album is the somewhat tired-sounding production from Jack Antonoff. It feels like he’s used up all his tricks at this point. It never gets in the way, and it shouldn’t considering T Swift needs her songwriting at the forefront anyway, but it’s not like the days of 1989 when the production drove the songs as much as anything else. He’s entered the realm where his die-hard supporters will cry “minimalism is the best kind of art” while the rest of us get bored and move on to more interesting beats, like my off-balance washing machine, for example.

The most enjoyable parts are mellow and background-y (“Down Bad”, “Fortnight”), with only one fun song on the whole album that still has “new blues” (TM) undercurrents (“I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”). Also, “Florida” is unintentionally hilarious. I don’t know what the message is supposed to be, but I literally laugh out loud when I hear it. FLORIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. It’s like a battle cry.

There are some artists where you get the feeling they’re trying to write more intelligently than they’re really capable of - T Swift is the exact opposite. I get the feeling she has to simplify and edit her songs to make them as approachable as possible. That’s purely speculation, though. Maybe she just naturally hits that sweet spot, intuitively sprinkling on a few grains of her brand of intellectuality to spice up the pop base layer without over-doing it. But I think it’s more fun to imagine it’s all intentional string-pulling.

Nothing I heard on this album makes me think T Swift isn’t the mastermind she claims to be. But even a mastermind can get stuck in a rut - T Swift might not be there yet, but her tires have started spinning just a little.

From the roundup Jamwise #45 - Special Edition: 2024's Chart-Topping Albums.