LogFAQs > #964958065

Like I said when not voting for it, this album is VERY same-y. Sure, it's a course-correction from reputation and Lover, but it still doesn't compare to the sheer delight of Fearless, Speak Now, and Red. All those albums had those "young love" themes too (and the latter two had Taylor blasting some of her critics) and yet were an engaging listen because of the variety. Like Seanchan said, this album requires concentrated effort to process fully. It's exhaustingly long (especially for a dark and repetitive album) and would benefit from cutting four tracks. It's for this reason that I expect many of the later tracks to be ranked lowly, since people start tuning out. Track order absolutely matters on an album this redundant.

I can't see myself giving this a second listen this week. I've heard this album twice before this and half of these songs are still indistinguishable. Once you hit a certain point, they all blend together, and not in a good way. Speak Now is a much superior album and that's my hill to die on. The only song on this album that gave me shades of "Old Taylor" was "betty" and that's precisely why it's #1 for me. "this is me trying" was... relatable AF for me. Honestly my top 5 (maybe 6?) is all that matters and everything after that all blends together. And tbh... I'm feeling sedated by too much doom and gloom.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nap.

1. betty
2. this is me trying
3. the last great american dynasty
4. cardigan
5. exile
6. august
7. mad woman
8. the 1
9. mirrorball
10. illicit affairs (a million little times)
11. invisible string
12. hoax
13. my tears ricochet
14. peace
15. 7
16. epiphany