By KATY MAYFIELD – Staff Writer
Taylor Swift’s newest album misses the mark in transitioning the star from country to pop.
“Pop-country princess” Taylor Swift plunged into the world of pop on Oct. 27 when she released her first self proclaimed all-pop album, 1989, named after the 24 year old’s birth year, now available on iTunes for $12.99. The album’s style is traditional for its namesake time period, displaying techno beats and electronic keyboard riffs, but very different for Swift, whose past four albums, “Taylor Swift,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now” and “Red,” have all had essences of country.
Disappointingly, the majority of 1989’s songs signal something close to an identity crisis for the singer-songwriter. By attempting to prove her allegiance to pop, Swift has picked up many of the genre’s flaws, the most obvious of which is pop artists’ tendency to cover their sound voices with strident digital sounds and repeat short, meaningless phrases. Swift displays this throughout the album, but namely in 1989’s fourth track, “Out of the Woods”, in which she repeats the titular phrase a frustrating 38 times throughout the song.
All but “Shake it Off,” the upbeat and enjoyable pre-released track that skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard 100, are filled with unnecessary and tiresome computer-generated beats layered over Swift’s lyrics, which on their own are plenty catchy.
“Welcome to New York.” for instance, starts off with an exhausting 26 seconds of scratchy techno beats, and the melodramatic “I Know Places” begins with Swift repeating a single “I” syllable over and over.
Though the grating techno beats are frustrating, 1989’s lack of substance in terms of lyricism in is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the album. The primary factor of Swift’s appeal is her ability to consistently create songs with heartfelt lyrics that are relatable to fans and critics alike, yet each have their own unique sound. Even Swift’s more pop-oriented albums managed to epitomize this. However, “1989” overlooks Swift’s prowess as a songwriter as a result of the album’s tendency toward repetitive and generic pop. While in the past Swift belted out stories of young love and passion in songs like “You Belong With Me” and “Our Song” she now halfheartedly cries out forgettable lyrics like “Time can heal but this won’t/so if you coming my way just don’t.”
Swift has always been the “pop-country princess”; she doesn’t need techno beats and meaningless lyrics to succeed in the pop world. Hopefully 1989 is experimental for Swift and won’t set the precedent for her future albums.
