Taylor Swift - 1989: Album Review

Taylor Swift goes even more so into pop, with a better performance, but still lukewarm.

Release date: 27 October 2014

Genre: Pop/Synthpop

Best songs: "Style", "How You Get The Girl", "I Wish You Would", "Clean"

Worst songs: "Welcome To New York", "Shake It Off"

Rating: 6/10.

Let me start out by saying, I was a huge fan of Taylor Swift. I loved “Tim McGraw”, “Our Song”, “Love Story”, “Dear John”, “Mean”, pretty much her entire discography. She always had a knack for good hooks, so I don’t see why she had to turn to pop. She was successful enough in her previous genre.

So, 1989. The album that sold over 1.2 million in the United States in its first week alone. The review is obviously going to be contentious, so just respect my opinion here. I tend to talk about the singles first, so “Shake It Off”. While not being outright terrible, it honestly was a disappointment. I heard that Taylor was going full pop, and I didn’t mind that, if she could do it well. Sure, it has a catchy melody and the hook, while repetitive, sticks in your head well, the production is basic, and the “white-girl rapping” is not all that great. Also, I don’t tend to like anti-hater anthems, because making the song just shows how much it affects you. We do get a good follow-up with “Blank Space”, nice production, good hook, and it shows a more “adult” tone. Problem being, it doesn’t seem like her. It doesn’t seem honest, and that is what I always loved about her. She didn’t have to make a cover-up, she was herself, at least that’s the impression I got. Third single “Style” is a pure gem. It tells about how both partners are realizing that they screwed up, and they both have problems, shows a great deal a maturity. The 80s style guitar carries a very nice melody. Now we get to the polarizing “Bad Blood”, which honestly, I didn’t hate the album version, carrying a much more darker tone, it’s an alright song. Now the Kendrick Lamar featured remix, now I could go on about how bad that one is, but it’s not part of this album, so no bitching there. Then we get “Wildest Dreams”, a low-key sex song that really isn’t to my taste, though it could be, knowing Taylor as a teenager, I just can’t see her being 24 like she is here. It’s a good version of say, Lana Del Rey. It isn’t bad, but again, not for me. After is “Out Of The Woods”, which I like, but not as a single. The echoing vocals and 80s production works fine enough. Finally, we get the final and seventh single, “New Romantics”. I actually like quite a bit, with the synth and just being a feel-good anthem with the line “the best people in life are free” (though it should be pointed out she likely does not even know what the “New Romantics” is).

Now we have to get to the album tracks and… “Welcome To New York”, the opening track. Overproduced, cheesy, and just for the most part, boring. I had fun with it at first, but now… it’s just filler. Then we get “All You Had To Do Was Stay”, and really, it’s a pretty good song, but I will say the high head voiced “Stay!” on the hook… I’m going to paraphrase Shane Dawson here and say it sounds like someone is shoving something big up her ass. “I Wish You Would” sounds great, saying that she knows the relationship wouldn’t work, and she wish it did. Though the “You always knew how to push my buttons” line is kinda goofy, whatever. “How You Get The Girl” is a nice acoustic track that could’ve fit on her other albums. I like the heartfelt, stripped-back sentiment of giving advice to a guy who wants a girl back. “Clean” is a gorgeous cut as well.

All in all, this album could have been great, but it’s barely good. She’s playing a persona it seems and doesn’t seem too honest most of the time. She's playing off other artists rather than being herself and what makes her unique. It’s a strong 6/10 and I’m recommending it, but really it’s a modest one, and she could do better.

Your own rating of 1989?

Fifth Harmony - 7/27: Album Review

The girl group does change for the better, but not by a huge margin. Album: 7/27 - Fifth Harmony Genre: Pop/EDM Best songs:  "Write On Me", "Squeeze"                                     Worst songs: "Work From Home" (ft. Ty Dolla $ign), "This Life", "All In My Head" (Flex) (ft. Fetty Wap) Rating: 4/10.

7/27 is the sophomore album from American girl group Fifth Harmony. The album was preceded by the lead single “Work From Home”, which features rapper Ty Dolla $ign. On this album we see the girl group maturing, but not by much.   Let’s actually talk about the lead single, because it’s probably one of the worst songs on this record. Blatantly ripping off the chorus “Work” by Rihanna, which features Canadian rapper Drake, and while “Work”, to be honest, is not great, at least it’s not a rip-off. If you’re going to do that, at least do it better than this. The girls aren’t even likable on this song, and it’s sad to say Ty Dolla $ign of all people is the only (barely) redeeming quality of this song. While the snapping is a nice aesthetic, it reminds me too much of the snapping in Selena Gomez’s “Same Old Love”, which again, a much better song. Then we get into “This Life”, which has pitch-shifted chipmunks that I just can't stand here. Why is it becoming so common in pop music? It only works good if it’s actually Alvin & The Chipmunks in almost all cases. Next comes “All In My Head” (Flex), which features, ugh… Fetty Wap. His voice is pretty intolerable on this song like always. He only works well over trap, and even then, it’s not much. I can’t even understand what he’s saying half the time. And I can’t stand self-indulging songs like this. They’re “flexing”, good for them. At least be believable in your bragging. And then we get into the production and instrumentation. Which I’ve talked about already with the chipmunk vocals and such. But basically (pun intended), it’s all pretty basic instrumentation and production and it’s not at all complex. And deciding to give Camilla Cabello the most attention when she’s clearly the weakest vocalist just doesn’t work.   But is there any redeeming qualities here? Well, they do have slightly better harmonies, and they gave the other girls more time in the spotlight. Which they should, and do it much more. The vocals from the girls are tolerable most of the time, and they don’t have a single as bad as “Worth It” at least.   It’s obviously not for me, but 4/10. Fans will probably eat it up and love it. But, really only fans. If you want to tell me how wrong I am, Harmonizers, you can do so in the comments. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next review.