Album Review: Taylor Swift — reputation

TSwift is back with the much-anticipated release of her sixth studio album, reputation. Swift has become a hot topic lately, but let’s leave the drama aside and take a look at the music. Are you ready for it? Then let the games begin.

1. …Ready For It? — 8/10

Swift isn’t pulling any punches on reputation with this explosive opener. Swift proves she is the queen of the crescendo on this track — especially on verse two. As the track starts to grow at 1:26, builds with the harmonies at 1:29, and peaks at 1:41 on “see,” Swift proves things are only going up from here. This feisty love song packs a lot of nice accents — the echoes on the choruses are excellent, the riff on “take my time” (first heard at 1:07) is perfection, and the Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton references are very clever. I particularly like the emotion that comes through on Swift’s voice, especially on coy, playful lines like, “but he act like such a man so,” and “I’m so very tame now.” This clever opener acts as a departure from 1989-era Swift as she leaves her past behind. She unapologetically ushers in a new era of music with much more rap and electronic influences and a fiercer sound. This is the path she has chosen, and we can come along — if we’re ready for it.

2. End Game (ft. Ed Sheeran & Future) — 6/10

This track didn’t wow me like “…Ready For It?” did. “End Game” mimics “Bad Blood” in its melodic structure and form — the chorus is the intro to the song, and the chorus consists of a simple melody. Yet in this case, “I wanna be your end game” is written with a much less catchy melody than “Baby now we’ve got bad blood” was, and therein lies the song’s downfall. However, there are some highlights — the riff on “play” first heard at 1:22, Swift’s coy lyric “I swear I don’t love the drama, / It loves me,” and finally Sheeran’s verse are some notable saving graces that helped this song’s rating.

3. I Did Something Bad — 8/10

Swift is unapologetic on this track of exoneration. “They say I did something bad, / Then why’s it feel so good?” Swift sings. This track features some biting vocals (“you gotta leave before you get left”), an epic bass line, and the best outro on the entire album. However, the looped vocals heard at 1:09 were grating, and the bridge would have benefited from some higher harmonies layered over as Swift sings “light me up.” Still, this song is a delightfully dark listen that ranks right up there with Lovato’s spicy track “Sorry Not Sorry” on the list of my favorite “I’m A Bad Bitch” ballads.

4. Don’t Blame Me — 10/10

“Don’t Blame Me” somehow seamlessly unites gospel influences and electronic vibes, as Swift, in only one song, brings to mind such diverse tracks as Delta Rae’s “Bottom of the River,” Ruelle’s “War of Hearts,” and Florence + The Machine’s “What Kind of Man.” Describing an obsessive love, Swift pens a powerful song with lines like, “love made me crazy, / if it doesn’t you ain’t doing it right.” This song garnered a perfect 10, but there is one line that almost prevented such an outcome. Whatever your opinions on Swift, you can’t deny she’s a talented songwriter. So where did the almost grotesquely cutesy line in verse two — “I once was your poison ivy, but now I’m your daisy” — come from?

5. Delicate — 7/10

As Swift sings of a fragile new relationship and declares it “delicate,” she seems to indicate a greater strength behind this connection. “I know that it’s delicate / Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?” she sings, letting us wonder if perhaps she’s wrong — perhaps this love is actually made to last. I like the honest lyrics on this track, like, “This ain’t for the best, / my reputation’s never been worse so / you must like me for me.” It’s almost a more poetic line given how mundane and unstudied it sounds — it’s just what she’s thinking. Yet while Swift offers candid lyrics and a nice beat on this quiet track, the edited “delicate” heard at 1:08 wasn’t satisfying and it just wasn’t as catchy as some of its predecessors.

6. Look What You Made Me Do — 8/10

“LWYMMD” is by far the most theatrical and magical track on reputation as Swift points fingers at her foes. With dramatic string accompaniment, acid-dipped lyrics, and the outrageous bridge (“The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? ‘Cause she’s dead!”), Taylor is clearly turning up the heat on the album’s first single. Some of the best lyrics of reputation are to be found on this track — “Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time” is a personal favorite. I must say though, there is one exception: “I check it once, then I check it twice,” never fails to evoke the nonsensical image of a vengeance-seeking Taylor wearing a Santa hat checking the naughty or nice list— presumably not the intimidating image she was going for, but maybe I’m mistaken…

7. So It Goes… — 6/10

This love song is a little lackluster. It has some nice moments — the magician metaphor is particularly powerful and the bridge is compelling — but otherwise, this track isn’t a standout. The melodies aretame, the rhymes aren’t as sharp as I expect them to be from Swift, and the lyrics are a little stale.

8. Gorgeous — 10/10

“Gorgeous” is a hilarious, clever song. This track reminds us of a serious strength that Swift has always brought to the table — her ability to write songs that we can relate to. It’s what has made tracks like “You Belong With Me,” “Enchanted,” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together” so compelling, and it again works in her favor on “Gorgeous.” Swift perfectly captures the irrational emotions one encounters in love: “You’re so cool / it makes me hate you so much,” she sings. While these sound like ridiculous conclusions, who among us hasn’t made them when hit by cupid’s arrow? Swift perfectly pairs her playful, candid lyrics with punchy musical accents — I particularly like the bell used to punctuate lines, first heard at 0:47, and the psychedelic swoosh that comes in at 2:33.

9. Getaway Car — 10/10

“Getaway Car” is brilliant — the central metaphor is amazing, as Swift likens a relationship that started as a rebound to a hasty escape made in a getaway car. The lyrics and rhymes are impeccable, the instrumentation is perfect, and don’t even get me started on the glorious key change. Ever the storyteller, Swift has everything come full circle at the end as she switches sides and makes her own escape: “I’m in a getaway car, / I left you in a motel bar / put the money in a bag and I stole the keys, / that was the last time you ever saw me.” I don’t know how “Getaway Car” wasn’t one of the album’s first singles, but I presume it will follow in the footsteps of “Style” and sneak up the charts to steal our hearts all the same.

10. King of My Heart — 4/10

“King of My Heart” is not the king of my heart. The melodies are boring, the post-choruses are grating, and the bridge sounds absurd, musically and lyrically— “say you fancy me, not fancy stuff” is just one of the weird lines we encounter.

11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied — 6/10

I guess it’s appropriate that Swift turns to EDM while presumably singing about her ex Calvin Harris, an EDM DJ, but I don’t think it really works. The beat is nice, but, as with “King of My Heart,” the melodies and lyrics don’t amaze me.

12. Dress — 7/10

Even if you’ve somehow failed to notice all the references to Swift’s steamy love life on reputation thus far (…but like, are you even listening to the album?), “Dress” makes them a bit harder to ignore: “Only bought this dress so you could take it off,” Swift sings breathily. Like a few of its predecessors, this seductive track is a decent listen, but it didn’t wow me. I think it’s fair to say that Swift is no stranger to creating catchy tracks, but “Dress” is lacking a mind-blowing hook or a dramatic crescendo to spice things up. And on a bit of a side note, the chord change at 2:45 is definitely one of the strangest musical moments on the album.

13. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things — 10/10

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Swift ain’t pulling any punches on reputation. She’s taking names and burning bridges. Not convinced? “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” is the ultimate diss track. Lamenting backstabbing ex-friends and failed second chances, Swift creates a fun jaunt of a song that is harsh on her haters, but not at all harsh on our ears. “But I’m not the only friend you’ve lost lately, mmm mmm / If only you weren’t so shady,” Swift sings, sounding bitter but also simultaneously amused by her own audacity and sauciness. The bridge is sheer genius — Swift creates a toast, praising those who’ve supported her (her friends, beau, and mama). But as she continues with the toast, offering forgiveness for those who’ve wronged her, she literally cackles before laughingly declaring, “I can’t even say it with a straight face.” It’s frankly a masterpiece.

14. Call It What You Want — 9/10

Sonically, “CIWYW” harkens back to tracks like “This Love,” “Treacherous,” and “You Are In Love.” It’s a quiet, simple love song that is also one of the most polished tracks on reputation. With nice lyrics, solid melodies, and smooth instrumentation, this track is definitely one of Swift’s strongest.

15. New Year’s Day — 8.5/10

“New Year’s Day” seems like one of those songs that I would usually fall in love with — it’s a serious love song with quiet piano instrumentation and nice harmonies. Usually, that’s what I’m all about. However, as much as I want to love this song, it has strangely only hit a very strong like at this point. The instrumentation is lovely and the lyrics are vulnerable, honest, and powerful — “Please don’t ever become a stranger / whose laugh I could recognize anywhere,” Swift sings. Yet despite these lovely moments, there was nothing to send it over the top into becoming one of my clear favorites.

Ultimately: 8/10

Swift is back with her world-famous reputation in tow, and she’s created a powerful album that is sure to rule the airwaves for at least the next two new year’s days. She follows the interesting trend she’s established on Red and 1989, in that she refuses to conform to one genre, instead combining elements of pop, rap, gospel, alternative, and EDM to name a few — and it works. Yet while there are plenty of highlights — “Don’t Blame Me,” “Gorgeous,” and “Getaway Car,” to start — this album didn’t wow me as a whole, as its predecessors have tended to do.