Taylor Swift’s tenth album Midnights was arguably one of the most anticipated music releases of all time. Released at midnight on October 21, 2022, and then re-released 3 hours later with seven bonus tracks, Swift broke multiple streaming records in the first 24 hours. But with so many expectations to live up to, did the 32-year-old musician do herself justice?

As far as opening tracks go, “Lavender Haze” may have been her best one yet. Her Midnights’ debut satisfied every Taylor Swift craving we’ve had since her last release and is definitely a “stuck in your head” kind of song. It’s boppy, it’s upbeat, it’s fun, and it is exactly what you want for a pop album pilot track. 

Love at first sight- or rather, first listen, “Vigilante Sh*t” was immediate intreague, my favourite song on the entire album. It’s seductive and mysterious, so different from her other work. While this song may suit Reputation more than Midnights, it is absolutely irresistible. 

“It’s me, hi. I’m the problem; it’s me.” These repeated lyrics throughout “Anti-hero” hit home every single time. Taylor’s voice was genuine, almost breaking in the song’s bridge, and this realism was my number one line in all 20 songs.

On the other end of the spectrum, “Snow on the Beach” was a complete letdown. Not only is the track somewhat dull and uninteresting, but the highly anticipated Lana Del Rey feature was lacklustre, to say the least. Perhaps because a diva collab was so sought after, but this song did nothing to quench our thirst. 

Overall, Midnights had a lot of similarities and parallelism to other works, both her own and other artists. Some songs could quickly become mashups, like “Snow on the Beach” and “Illicit Affairs” from Folklore. Other pieces just gave off other artists’ vibes: Two Feet could have absolutely collaborated with Swift on “Vigilate Sh*t,” and some of the first few tracks could’ve been a feature for Harry’s House (Harry Styles). In no way did this make her new album sound recycled or as if she cheated off of others. However, it is interesting that nearly every song brought up a memory of some other musical work. 

While I found this album initially underwhelming, a second, third, and fourth listen unearthed new elements of each song. Midnights grows on the listener every single time, to the point where this album is absolutely a new fan favourite.