Taylor Swift has done it again. Here I am, listening to a country album, tapping my foot to every tune and actually enjoying it. I should never admit this, but I love Taylor Swift's songs. My roommates are never going to let me live this down, but the truth is she's a remarkably talented songwriter, whose lyrics are as eloquent as her guitar riffs are catchy. I would love to have the kind of chops this girl has on her latest offering, Speak Now.
Swift has always won over her fans with deeply personal songs, and this album is no exception. However, Speak Now is a transition from her bubblegum pop fantasies. Gone are the fairy-tale songs about Romeo and Juliet, and in their place are grown-up musings on the importance of love. Above all else, this album is a valiant effort at making sense of the challenges that come with age.
""Never Grow Up"" is the most transitional song on the album, with Swift convincing herself to stay young and simple forever. It takes a listen or two, but once the lyrics of ""Never Grow Up"" sink in, the listener will want nothing more than to go home for some of mom's chicken noodle soup. For all of you who moved into your first apartment this semester, this is the song you should have listened to before you got out of the car.
Album opener ""Mine"" is a reflective song about the challenges of relationships. With a simple chorus that rolls off the tongue, ""Mine"" is one of Swift's most accessible songs. Tension builds as she moves into the bridge, before the sweetly romantic final verse, in which all instruments drop out and leave just guitar, drums and Swift's soft voice. Finally, the song builds once again into an anthemic final chorus.
Admittedly, I am not a huge country music fan. But the album's title track, ""Speak Now"" are likely to draw in even the least likely of listeners. In this confessional, Swift is not content to allow the man she loves to marry the wrong woman. This is a premise seen in countless romantic comedies and it advances the kind of sentiment present in ""You Belong with Me."" With vibrant imagery of pastel colors and gowns shaped like pastries, Swift demonstrates that she hasn't completely grown up yet. However, the song isn't cutesy all the way through, as she sings, ""The organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march."" By incorporating biting imagery in such a fun song, Swift's songwriting on this album begs a closer look.
In ""The Story of Us,"" Swift shows she's also fully capable of writing a club-banger. The sound of a relationship falling apart has never sounded so catchy, and with flowing lyrics, Swift weaves a love story into a tragedy. ""I've never heard silence quite this loud,"" Swift sings, dropping guitar and drums in and out to emphasize this imagery.
A wall of sound introduces ""Haunted."" With a fast drum intro, distorted guitar and orchestral string arrangements, this song sounds absolutely epic. Minimalistic piano complements Swift's dynamic vocals during the verses before the song builds into a sweeping, affecting chorus.
A record of this caliber deserves applause, and the fact that Swift is only 20 years old and Speak Now is only her third album makes it all the more remarkable. Furthermore, the fact that Swift's name is the only one in the writing credits for every track separates her from her bubblegum-pop peers. These songs speak volumes and mark a new place for the young Swift.
