Taylor Swift goes through an awkward, forced growth spurt with “Red,” her fourth album, which tries to contort her usual heartfelt country songs into pop for a bigger audience. Although she wrote or had a hand in writing all of the songs, they sound much more mass-produced than her earlier albums.
“Red,” released on October 22, sells out of Swift’s original country style by using auto-tuned singing and less country songs. The album cover and all promotional photos look like they have been put through Instagram-esque filters, and definitely have a more mature and trendy air, representative of the music itself.
She partnered with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol on “The Last Time” and Ed Sheeran on “Everything Has Changed,” which are some of the songs that don’t sound completely far off from her usual sound and are a nice change of pace from her repetitive pop-sounding new songs.
The first single of the album and the most downloaded on iTunes is “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” a catchy song that has been overplayed and over-praised. The song is very repetitive and after about one play, very annoying. It’s a far cry from Swift’s older music, and rather than a sweet country love song, this is a stuck-in-your-head-for-weeks pop song that seems to have been made to sell.
“Red,” the title track and one of the most popular songs on the album, is another that uses auto-tuning effects to give the song a very slight electronic feel. “Red” uses colors to illustrate Swift’s emotions through different times in a relationship, which I thought was cool and intriguing. Unfortunately, the lyrics were one of only a few good things about the song. There was a slight country tinge to this song, but combined with the pop aspects, both cancel each other out, and the song is not a good example of either genre.
By listening to any one of Taylor Swift’s songs, you can tell that she is a huge romantic. This trait goes over the edge with “Stay Stay Stay,” which is evident even in the name that the message of the song is desperate and clingy. The song is a cheerful, overly-sugared cavity that sounds like it belongs in a Disney princess musical, but with lyrics that are a bit obsessive and creepy.
“Begin Again was one of the few songs” on “Red” where Swift actually sounded like her old self. This song was decidedly country, and was a sad, slow song about a breakup. It’s in the same confrontational, tell-all style as most of her songs, and seems to be one of the few relics of her real country sound.
Taylor Swift’s new record “Red,” released Oct. 22, has prompted praise and criticism. Credit: Big Machine Record Label.
