Taylor Swift's 'Midnights': Critical Reception

 by Emma Pope

Speaking in her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, Taylor Swift describes her, then newest, album Lover as “probably one of my last opportunities as an artist to grasp onto that kind of success.” Nearly three years later and following arguably her most successful album launch to date, it is difficult to imagine Taylor Swift as anything other than a global superstar.

Taylor has never been a stranger to sending social media into overdrive, and the announcement of her latest release Midnights was no different. Collecting the VMA for video of the year (for the All Too Well music video) Taylor casually noted that “it might be a fun moment” to announce a brand new album releasing October 21st. In a follow-up social media post, she described the record as “a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face.” Attached to the post was a link to pre-order the album on her website, which eager fans promptly crashed.

In the fifty-three days between Midnights’ announcement and its release, Taylor made the unusual decision not to release any singles. No one knew what any of the album would sound like until its universal release. Speculation surrounding the sound, alongside Taylor’s marketing strategy played a part in generating massive anticipation for the album. By offering several limited edition colour variants of CDs and vinyls, Taylor encouraged the pre-order of multiple copies, helping to create chart success. Taylor is known by fans for her love of easter eggs and hints, which meant everything she released was analysed. This was particularly true for the reveal of the tracklist; everyday a new song title was announced via a TikTok video. The timing of these videos corresponded to midnight in locations across the globe. Once all thirteen tracks were revealed, lyrics appeared on billboards across the world. Brands including Spotify, Amazon and Tumblr all interacted with Taylor, sometimes providing hints and information about the album. This strategy kept fans active, often well into the night, ensuring the album was consistently trending on social media, giving it visibility well before it was released.

Not including re-recordings, Midnights is Taylor’s tenth studio album, and her third in the past three years - an impressive feat. Midnights marks a notable departure from the indie and folk inspired sounds of Folklore and Evermore, instead returning to the pop that Taylor is perhaps most famous for. The album is conceptual, taking place across “thirteen sleepless nights” throughout Taylor’s life, with several songs that are reminiscent of past albums and eras. According to Swift the record is inspired by: “self loathing, fantasising about revenge, wondering what might have been, falling in love and falling apart.” Although there has some criticism of the albums’ lyrics (especially in comparison to Folklore and Evermore), there is still plenty of beautiful writing to be found. At times the album is starkly honest about mental health and struggling to cope, this is particularly true in songs like lead single Anti-Hero which features the poignant “I’ll stare directly in the sun but never in the mirror / it must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero.” You’re On Your Own, Kid is equally candid; From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes / I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this / I hosted parties and starved my body”. There are also moments of joy on the album, take love song Paris which describes how a couple “Stumbled down pretend alleyways / Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne / I was taken by the view / Like we were in Paris, oh.” Paris is one of seven songs exclusive to the 3AM edition of the album, a deluxe variant that Taylor surprised fans with three hours after Midnights initial release.

Fan reception for Midnights has seen some mixed opinions, with some feeling the album lacks cohesion, is repetitive or does not live up to her past albums. However, overall the album has been viewed positively, currently boasting a Metacritic user score of 8.3 (‘universal acclaim’). I asked some fans about their favourite songs and lyrics from the album. The first selected The Great War, a song from the 3AM edition as their favourite. The second fan particularly enjoyed “He wanted it comfortable / I wanted pain” from the song Midnight Rain. The third chose a more lighthearted lyric from Karma “Karma is a cat / Purring in my lap ‘cause it loves me.” They spoke about the fact that not every song has to be serious, and although they love the beautiful and poignant lyrics, sometimes they just want a song to dance to. Karma was a popular choice, with the final fan I spoke to also citing it as one of their favourites alongside Vigilante S***. In particular “She needed cold hard proof so I gave her some / She had the envelope, where do you think she got it from? / Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride.”

The critical reception of the album is overwhelmingly positive, with a current Metacritic score of 85 based on twenty-eight reviews. The Guardian gave it a full five stars, Rollingstone hailed it as an ‘instant classic’ whilst The Independent comments that “the subtle melodies of Midnights take time to sink their claws in. But Swift’s feline vocal stealth and assured lyrical control ensures she keeps your attention.” Only The New York Times and Sputnikmusic have thus far posted less rapturous reviews. The former sees the album as “overly familiar sounding and spotty.”

If the critical reception doesn’t prove the success of Midnights its impressive streaming and sales figures certainly do. When the album released, the number of fans trying to simultaneously listen temporarily crashed Spotify’s servers. The album then proceeded to break the Spotify record for most single-day album streams and made Taylor the most streamed artist in a single day. She broke similar records on Amazon and Apple music. In the US and UK the album became the fastest selling of 2022 thus far, knocking Harry Styles’ Harry’s House off the top spot. The album and its single Anti-Hero topped dozens of charts across the globe. In the USA, songs from Midnights occupied the entirety of Billboard Hot 100’s top ten, marking the first time an artist has ever achieved this and the first time the top ten has contained no male artists. The whole album charted within the top forty-five songs. The album also occupied the top five slots of the Billboard Global 200 which tracks sales and streams across over 200 countries.

As a result of the pandemic forcing the Lover Fest tour to be cancelled, Taylor has not toured since the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Midnights is set to change that with a global tour entitled The Eras Tour beginning in the USA next year. The tour will include songs from across Taylor’s expansive back catalogue, celebrating the re-recordings of her past albums alongside her new works. As of the time of writing, the announcement of dates outside of the USA is imminent. If the fact that Ticketmaster had to impose a queue for the USA pre-sale signup and the fact that UK fans crashed the Taylor Swift site when UK dates were teased is anything to go by, tickets will be in high demand.

Undoubtedly the album has been a success in every way for Taylor Swift. Midnights marks the beginning of an exciting new era.