In the case of Taylor Swift’s newest album, the tension between artistic authenticity and commercial success is the elephant in the room. With Spotify’s ubiquitous presence (and its branded scrolls on albums) and the overwhelming machinery of the music industry, it’s almost impossible for an artist like Swift to escape that tension.
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While she can theoretically challenge herself or her audience with more poetic ambitions, the structure of the industry often forces her to deliver products that fit into consumable matrices—hence, songs that do the trick in retail stores, gyms, or on homogenous (read: aesthetically fatigued) playlists. Sorry, Taylor.
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That said, it’s also clear that Taylor has evolved over time, and perhaps it’s the expectations set by her past albums that make her latest one feel less exciting. Both 1989 and Fearless were genuinely inspired and artistically formative works. On these albums, Taylor captured something fresh and distinct, both in songwriting style and lyrical maturity.
But when an artist with that kind of legacy drops another new record that doesn’t quite ignite the same fire, it feels less like turning the page and more like mild disappointment.
