In just 12 tracks, Taylor Swift paints a theatrically vivid, autobiographical narration of her own long-lived reputation as a spectacle on both the stage and in the tabloids with “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Her twelfth album was released Oct. 3 and is a dynamic callback to past and present lovers, friends and haters. It is also an interesting progression of melodic patterns uncharacteristic of her typical poeticism — but then again, nothing is typical of an artist who reinvents the aesthetic and auditory expectations with each new era. While reminiscent of some of her previous albums, “The Life of a Showgirl” is luxurious, blunt and carefree in a way Swift has never demonstrated before.
Completely tangential from her electro-pop work with Jack Antonoff, this album is co-produced by Max Martin and Shellback, who both are (known for hits on “Red,” “1989” and “Reputation”). This switch-up is refreshing with crisp vocals and instrumentals in songs like “Wi$h Li$t” and “Opalite” that emulate an ’80s pop sound rather than the stale, synthetic fatigued past of “Midnights” and much of “The Tortured Poets Department.”
In her lyricism, Swift showcases once again that she is a Shakespeare nerd with “The Fate of Ophelia,” one of the greatest on the album,and has a phenomenally elaborate music video that was released Oct. 5. This song is melodically ethereal, and could not be more different from her other literary works like “Folklore” and “Evermore.” Interwoven with hints of Swift’s romantic happy ending is the Shakespearean legend of Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet who was fatally driven mad. Swift recalls how meeting fiancé Travis Kelce changed her ill-fated prophecy with a “saved” heart.”
In “Elizabeth Taylor,” however, Swift sounds less eloquent. Tonally, the arrangement comes off scattered and almost AI-sounding. It is a shame, because the acoustic CD version better showcases outstanding lines set to cultivated vocals, like “Be my NY when Hollywood hates me / You’re only as hot as your last hit baby.”
“Eldest Daughter” is also a letdown, not fulfilling the tradition of a Swift track five being the most beautifully devastating on the album. Even in the album’s lower moments, however, her seemingly inexhaustible wordplay is catchy nevertheless,—showing that there are methods to her madness.
The cringey millennial internet vocabulary may be distracting, but with a dedicated listening experience that trusts the process, Swift accomplishes something much more complex: satire. The dated online slang is a nod to the song’s theme of wanting to appear hip and trendy online and to younger generations. Swift is a millennial, so give her grace for using language like “savage,” “trolling” and “girlboss.”
“The Life of a Showgirl” is the manifesto for the real person who juggles the intangible facade of the blinding lights and sequins. With its similar premise of self-deconstruction, it would make sense if this new album sounded like “The Tortured Poets Department.” Conceptually, in the universe of her discography, however, this new version of Swift is crafted by the version of herself that “Mirrorball” from “Folklore” spells out plain and simple — she is once again “on that trapeze … still trying everything … to keep you looking.” It is more sensible that the album reflects that all-engrossing hustle with its performative diction and sound.
When the lights dim and the Louboutins come off, Swift has much more to say. She calls out the unattainable standards of the Hollywood machine and vulturous cancel culture in “CANCELLED!,” while “Ruin The Friendship” vulnerably admits to regretful insecurities and timidness that held her back during her youth. “Wi$h Li$t” serves as commentary on elitist culture. Even coming from a billionaire, who couldn’t be more biased on that subject, the message lands. Among the cheesy lyrics and tonally chaotic parts, Swift, as per usual, does well articulating serious concepts in an irresistibly catchy way.
Haters gonna hate, and hopefully the muse of “Actually Romantic” deserves it. Quickly after its release, the internet had no hesitation drawing lyrical comparisons to an apparent feud with Charli XCX from her songs “Everything is Romantic” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” which hint at tension during Swift’s relationship with The 1975’s Matty Healy. Swift’s unfiltered vulgarity in this track is awesomely off–brand for Miss Americana, who in albums past has resorted to lyrical double entendres like the “Reputation” track “So It Goes” and “Cruel Summer” from “Lover.” “Actually Romantic” is possibly the best song on the album when the questionable motives are set aside.
“Wood” reverts back to Swift’s love for hidden meanings, but she turns a new leaf by writing about pleasure unapologetically. At times she is euphemistic with, “The curse on me was broken by your magic wand,” and at other times, “His love was the key that opened my thighs.” Swift has quite possibly outdone herself with her lyrical sleight of hand in this track.
The title track, featuring the younger showgirl Sabrina Carpenter, wraps up the album with an alluring illustration of the mutually captivating and all-consuming opulence of Hollywood. The bridge is straight out of “The Greatest Showman,” and that’s what Swift is. Echoes of the Eras Tour exit remarks are eerie in the best way, grounding the listening experience back to the tour that — during “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl ” — Swift credits as being the creative playground on which she wrote this album. “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which debuted for a limited time in theaters from Oct. 3-5, delivers a song-by-song breakdown of Swift’s creative process and inspirations. Unfortunately, the average listener may not go the extra mile to see this supplemental yet vital analysis.
“The Life of a Showgirl” is contextualized by the career-spanning and career-defining feat of the Eras Tour, so fans had a lot of prewritten ideals about what it would be. This may not be her most cohesive album, but it is undeniably fun and completely new territory. Even those who absolutely dislike it will be talking about it for a while, and like Swift alluded to in “Actually Romantic”: attention is flattery.
