Carlie Pracht
Lantern Staff
Taylor Swift has always been very open with her fans through her music, always sharing intimate details of her relationships, but the recent release of her seventh studio album, Lover, is even more intimate than she’s been in the past. This album celebrates love in all its highs and lows, and as Swift put it “This album is very much a celebration of love, in all its complexity, coziness and chaos.”
The types of relationships she writes about vary from the one with her boyfriend of three years, Joe Alwyn, and her relationship with her mother who is battling cancer for the second time. This album is about love in all forms, not just in the presence of romance.
She sings about how she knows that she has been wrong, and she wants to apologize for those times, but she is also very aware of when she has been wronged and will stand up for herself in those instances. This is most notably evident on her song “The Man,” in which she comments on the double standards in today’s society and how all of her actions would be praised and applauded instead of discouraged and judged if only she were a man.
Lover opens up with “I Forgot That You Existed.” This song seems like her final goodbye to her past relationships and a transition from her dark and mysterious era that accompanied her previous album, Reputation, to her lighthearted and romantic new era that accompanies Lover. This is also exemplified in the music video for “Me!” featuring Brendon Urie that begins with a snake, which was the symbol of the Reputation era, that bursts into butterflies, the symbol of the Lover era.
The sound throughout the album ranges from the acoustic and slow composition in “Soon You’ll Get Better,” to the upbeat and retro feel of “Paper Rings.”
The album relays all of her hopes, fears and insecurities, which makes it timeless and relatable for all listeners.
Lover closes with “Daylight,” in which she sings about how her perception of love and life has changed over the years. She sings “You’ve gotta step into the daylight and let it go,” and closes the song with a recording of her talking about how she doesn’t want to be known for her fears and mistakes but rather the things she loves, saying “You are what you love.” Overall, this album is a beautiful masterpiece that expresses all the aspects of love and life and it is a piece that will be just as relatable 10 years from now.
I rate this album 13/13. (If you know, you know.)
