ALBUM REVIEW: Taylor Swift’s “Lover”

“A love letter to love itself.” That is how Taylor Swift describes Lover. At 18 songs, Swift’s newest album, released on August 23, is her longest one yet. Some people might say that all of her albums are about love, but I think what separates Lover is that it covers every aspect of love. That is why it is so long. It’s about moving on, falling in love, and everything in between.

Lover has wide range of song styles. There are a lot of classic Taylor Swift pop songs like “Cruel Summer” and “The Man.” However, “Lover” and “Paper Rings” showcase Swift’s range. They are very different from songs that she normally produces, but still fit her style perfectly. She also has a few slow songs like “Daylight” and “Afterglow”. The most touching song on the album, “Soon You’ll Get Better”, is about Swift’s mother’s battle with cancer. I think this is another thing that separates this album from her others; it’s about love in every aspect of life, not just in romantic relationships. She has songs about relationships with friends and family as well.

Swift accomplishes the seemingly impossible task of drawing a common theme from every song on this album. There is such a large range of styles and subjects in every song, but they all connect to one thing: love. The theme for Lover has been clear since the release of her first single, “ME!”. It is all very pastels, sunshine, daytime, rainbows, and butterflies. Every song is reminiscent of this theme. Lover is most definitely a feel good album.

Along with being available on all streaming services, Swift has four deluxe editions of Lover available at Target. Each one has thirty pages of Swift’s old journal entries from as far back as age 13. I think this is such a unique way of sharing more about herself with her fans. She says she has always shown her journals to the world in the form of songs, but now she decided to show the real thing. 

This album is the beginning of a new chapter for Swift. She is closing the door on the Kanye drama and focussing on what matters: love. From what it sounds like in her songs, she has finally found that perfectly imperfect love she has always searched for, and she has put those feelings into words for the whole world to sing along. This is one of my favorite albums she has ever released, and I’m thrilled to see what comes next.