I fell for Taylor before it was cool to. I also liked her country edge, it set her apart from every other pop artist and although the move away from her early influences was inevitable as her profile into celebritism progressed every time she left the front door I was disappointed but then again, there's nothing worse than an artist repeating themselves, how much further could she have gone with another country-pop country crossover album? The transaction has been a masterstroke as she left Nashville for New York, gained a well respected group of friends, Lena Dunham, Karlie Kloss, Lorde and lost her long locks for a bob.
There is nothing straight-forward about 1989 as it dips and dives without losing identity or feeling experimental, it's a concise record, faultless, flawless and free. Taylor has been writing songs since pre-teens, she was the youngest songwriter to sign to Sony at just fourteen and her ability to document heartbreak with a catchy chorus is better than anybody else out-there and the reason why she has been successful so working with highly credible songwriters including Max Martin and Ryan Tedder as well as Bleachers frontman/Fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff only took the sound that extra level without overshadowing Taylor's thumbprint. It's an adventure executed with perfection.
Through out Taylor's career there has been obvious signs of maturity and influences, the leap from Speak Now to Red was huge but with a clear focus on the city she now resides in, New York this is a different monster altogether. As a child she nagged her parents to relocate to Nashville to kick-start her stardom in a city full of country music fairytales but NYC suites a twenty four year old Taylor and took inspirations from the eighties, a decade that she only experienced for three weeks.
Shake It Off was the perfect way to excite a loyal fan base starved by anything new. The single exploded as its energy, catchiness and fun hit every spot as she mocked the public perception of her. It was a wake up call for every pop star as she rose the bar even higher. Once the world had time to digest that pop masterpiece she gave a sample of what else is in store for a new era with the completely different Out Of The Woods, a collaborated effort with Jack Antonoff. The New Jersey musicians influence is clear to the ear, it sounds like a Bleachers track with a Taylor twist. The pair who have become friends since Taylor palled up with his girlfriend Lena Dunham have teamed up on I Wish You Would too.
From the start the new Taylor sound is evident with the Ryan Tedder produced Welcome To New York, not only an ode to the city she has moved to since Red but also the sound of the city in the eighties as disco beats compliment the simplicity of the composition well. This is a huge step away from Red where opener State Of Grace could have been an indie track. Tedder who has worked the likes of Beyonce and Adele in the past also played a part on the dark, I Know Places, layered with fragility.
Sometimes pop albums can be lazy, built around a few singles. Every track on 1989 could be a chart topper but not the throwaway kind of songs. Firstly, Taylor's lyrics are witty, beautiful and clever, she's still the story-teller which was the reason she took to country music and the twangs might have gone but Blank Spaces might be her brightest effort to date, there's an instant impact that hits you in the face but it doesn't tire and the words are charming, funny and relatable. Album closer, Clean, a collaboration with Imogen Heap is another one to cherry pick from a record full of stand-outs as it is as open and honest as a pop song could be, the bare and empty beat behind only elevates the emotion.
The singer-songwriter has never been afraid to mince her words and there are a few in the firing line on here, Out Of The Woods is about Harry Styles, her former fella is also targeted on the aptly titled Style where the eighties disco influences are prevalent with a funky bass-line whilst fellow pop star Katy Perry gets a roasting on the bold, stadium filling Bad Blood with sharp-tongued lyrics which come with a catchy chorus and a beat created to clap-a-long to. Ironically, it sounds like a Katy Perry song. The vintage sound of Wildest Dream could be Lana Del Rey, it doesn't only share a similar structure to Lana's Young and Beautiful but the vocals emulate it too, slightly odd but Taylor does Lana better than Lana does Lana.
I can't find a single flaw with 1989, I had high expectations but it is even better. Pop albums don't really get better than this, it seems unfair to label it as a 'pop album' as there is so much more to it and the transition from Red is extremely impressive. It is kind of scary that this is her fifth album, she is yet to turn twenty five and continues to improve and grow with every release.
