There are a lot of things that come to mind when you first think of a Taylor Swift album. It’s the country-fied image of the ‘Love Story’ teen idol, crying over an acoustic guitar waiting for the love of her life to come and rescue her. And if you’re anything like me, that picture doesn’t make me go out and buy the album. Fortunately, ‘Speak Now’ sees a more mature Swift come through.
All the fans of Swift out there needn’t worry. It is the same style of country-influenced ballad pop that is unmistakeably Swift, with the similar romantic feel and big choruses of previous efforts ‘Taylor Swift’ and ‘Fearless’. But she shows lyrical talent past her twenty-years, even if it is all about the same thing.
‘Mine’ sets the tone for the next hour and a bit; upbeat pop with a well-built chorus and the same themes of love, regret and sentimentality that run throughout. ‘Sparks Fly’ and the sorrowful ‘Back to December’ follow the ‘schmultzy’ feel, while the delicately delivered and regretful ‘Never Grow Up’ is a touching moment. ‘Speak Now’ is another song that could well have been sung by Miley Cyrus.
The bluegrass-tinted ‘Mean’ and dance-beat fuelled ‘The Story Of Us’ offer a welcome break from the lovey-duvey ‘Love Story’ tracks, and some of Swift’s best moments come as she moves away from the idealistic tales of love. ‘Haunted’ is a dramatic orchestral tale of infatuation and obsession, while ‘Better Than Revenge’ sees a rocky side of Swift that almost touches on Avril Lavigne or Paramore. Almost.
But ‘Speak Now’ is a tiring album. Swift’s necessity for a big, all-encompassing chorus means every song feel like a long journey within itself, and the Disney-fied pop style wares thin as it goes on. The lumbering ‘Dear John’ and sombre ‘Last Kiss’ both go over six minutes and that feels too long. ‘Innocent’, the olive branch she gave to Kanye West after their MTV VMA incident, doesn’t go anywhere and big finale ‘Long Live’ comes at a point where you’re tired of hearing ‘will you take a moment, promise me this/that you’ll stand by me forever’.
I have a lot of respect for Swift after this album. She wrote every song on ‘Speak Now’, a rare thing for pop stars these days, and she shows herself to be very talented at writing and building her songs. The atmospheric story of love at first sight ‘Enchanted’ is a guilty pleasure: ridiculously romantic but momentarily captivating.
And that’s the problem with the album; a little too much about idealistic love for my taste and the constant stream of ‘anthemic’ choruses is exhausting. An overall much more mature effort from Swift, and future releases should be more interesting.
And here's what is probably my favourite song 'Better Than Revenge', and here it is backed by the now infamous image of West and Swift. In the words of Barack Obama, what a jackass.
NWR
No comments:
Post a Comment