Written by Chris Panico
‘Shake it Off’ is the best pop song of 2014.
Everybody already knows this and there’s not much reason to discuss Taylor Swift’s new single any further. However, her sensationally infectious song (which has over 214 million views on YouTube) does leave a listener curious about the whole album. Is 1989 set to become the new standard for pop music? Is it a dud? Is it all a marketing ploy to bring business back to Kodak?
The answer is no…sort of.
T-Swift has been historically prone to put out albums that are mixed bags and it seems that her latest release falls in line. A few tracks on the album are more than strong enough to hang with ‘Shake It Off,’ a few are entirely forgettable, and some fit snugly in the grey area of ‘meh.’
The roughest part of 1989 is getting through the first few songs. I applaud Swift and her team for choosing the best song as their lead single, but opening the record with “Welcome to New York” is a bad start for a fan with such high expectations. Melodically, the song is bland, and the over-saturation of bass and synthesizers makes for a very claustrophobic experience.
Luckily, the record does start gaining momentum halfway through. “I Wish You Would” is an absolutely killer track. While the lyrics are simple, she delivers the chorus in a way that manages to be unexpected, but still catchy at the same time.
Throughout the album Taylor Swift experiments with a lot of new vocal ideas, sometimes creating entire rhythms on single syllables (as in ‘I Know Places’). In the past she’s been regarded as a relatively sub-par vocalist, but she’s beginning to shed that reputation by making huge strides with her voice. “Bad Blood” features an entirely a capella intro that continues on to be one of best attitude tracks to date.
1989 is definitely a great step for Swift. It’s not amazing from top to bottom, but it isn’t terrible by any standard. It may even end up going platinum, though I don’t know how much that will help Kodak.
Rating: 6.5/10
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