Somewhere in Hell, Satan is bundled up in an off-brand North Face while cursing Taylor Swift; Hell has frozen over, because Swift has actually went and released a solid pop record that has me here for her. Let’s be honest, her releasing a pop record has been a long time coming, and Red wasn’t too far off with the likes of “I Knew You Were Trouble.”, and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. When she released “Shake It Off”, I rolled my eyes so hard that they actually got stuck in the back of my head. Other than looking adorable in the video, the song was pretty terrible. Then, came “Out of the Woods”, another song that kind of underwhelmed me save for the amazing drums. Finally, “Welcome to New York” debuted and I was all “Okay, I see you Taylor. Getting your pop record.” The album leaked pretty early on Friday and I immediately played it… Here are the results.

The album opens with “Welcome to New York”, an obvious stand-out from the project. I did a longer review here, but this is a song I have been playing quite a bit. “Girls and Girls and Boys and Boys”, is all I have to say. You go Glen Cocoa.

“I can make the bad guys good for the weekend…/cause you know I love the players, and you love the game!”, Swift confidently sing talks in the jaunty “Blank Space”. Drums and a relaxed dreamy production make this song feel effortless and gives effect to the delivery. Obviously the song is about boys, it’s Taylor Swift for Goddess sake. This is the kind of jam you bob your head to when you first start dating a bad boy. You know the type.

It’s over, and all of a sudden, guitars (and drums…). “You got that long hair, slicked back, white tee shirt…/and when we go crashing down we come back every time, because we never go out of style”, she bounces along, feeling her oats. This affair is about a long and complicated relationship she has with a certain someone, and she can’t even help it; she’s dickmatized. He bad, she good, they do it up. It’s all a bit emotional and kind of sad, somehow. It’s that long yearning, constant fulfillment, but never quite full kind of feeling. You want more, but you can’t get it. Through the years it’s all just still the same.

Queue her exploration anthem, “Out of the Woods”. “Are we out of the woods yet?” she asks, obviously over being lost with Harry Styles. There was only enough granola and water for a few hours, and it’s all gone now. What is a girl to do? Sing. Again, not a bad song, but not my favorite. I am quite pleased with the production though; Ryan Tedder you love some drums, queen.

“STAY!”, the best word in the post break-up/crash into me anthem “All You Had To Do Was Stay”. Word has it that Christina Aguilera is recording a cover titled “All You Had To Do Was SAY”, thus encapsulating her vocal run toomuchery. “Let me remind you, this was what you wanted. You ended it. You were all I wanted, but not like this”, Swift broods, remembering the emotional fall out from one of her many failed relationships. It’s okay girl, just saddle-up again, I won’t judge ya. At least one of us is getting some dating action. Relationships are complicated and oftentimes difficult, all you have to do is stay and figure it out, apparently. She is totes over him though.

More guitars, a little bit of bass, and what?! drums?! It’s all good, I am so into this whole 80’s rock vibe, tinged with synthy sweetness. The best of the 80’s is laced through-and-through. “I wish you knew that I missed you too much to be mad anymore…/I wish you would”, starting off slow, then kind of exploding into something faster, as she belts “I wish you would!” This is basically “Out of the Woods” part two.

“Cause baby now we got bad blood/ you know it used to be mad love/ so take a look what you’ve done/ cause baby now we’ve got bad blood”, sounding a bit too over it. Swift is the head cheerleader chastising the quarterback after their very public break-up. She can’t believe he would cheat on her with that “Monet”, Lisa. “She isn’t even pretty”, is all that is on Swift’s lips. Whatever, she was already accepted to Kansas State, and he was staying local working at his dad’s grocery store.

Strings and heartbeats… A little too tragic, a little too Lana Del Rey. But it’s good, so good, so none of that matters. “Red lips and rosy cheeks/ say you’ll see me again/ even if it’s in your wildest dreams *deep breath/sigh*.” Another instance of a bad boy ravaging our little Swift for all she’s worth; it’s okay though, she begged for it. Another red lips reference. We get it. I love me some red lips though, but that’s another post. This is one of the better moments of the record, it feels very organic and flows effortlessly from start to finish. She doesn’t believe it’s over, and hates saying goodbye. She’ll always have her memories….and their love child with webbed feet.

There appears to be a lot more country-inspired twang in “How You Get The Girl”, but it’s all good; It almost reads like The Corrs “Breathless” meets Shania Twain. Another feel good moment with Swift bouncing on a bed, making a guide to getting girls. Boys, listen up, she is spelling it out for you. “That’s how it works/ that’s how you get the girl”. I’m not sure I understand though… There must be a learning curve.

A righteous ballad lies in “This Love”. Soft and haunting production illuminates Swift’s pained vocals. A dichotomy exists in her love: “This love is good/ this love is bad…/ this love came back to me.” Oh man, this album is the perfect companion to anyone who is or ever has been involved with a relationship and the subsequent break-up.

Lyrically perfect, melodically pleasing, and all around glory sums up “I Know Places”. Swift clearly worked with Tedder on this, and it is fire. This is the song from the album that is the true standout. When it is released as a single, no one is safe from its clutches. “They are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run/ bay-beee I know places we won’t be found”, she urges. The use of the opening “i-i-i i-i-i-i” as part of the production is genius, so kudos Tedder. This song is rather epic in a kind of dialed back way. It just all works, cohesively. This is what I wanted as a first single, but like I said previously, Swift will always be successful.

The standard edition closes out with “Clean”, a song that one might have heard on a Tiffany record. The country presence is very much prevalent on this one, again it is welcomed. “By morning gone was any trace of you/ I’m finally clean”. What a fitting end to 1989… This album is very much cohesive and tells a story. There are so many ups and downs in any given relationship, and the break-up can poison your life for months. That feeling of relief comes on in an instant, and you typically can’t believe it. “10 months sober, I must admit/ just because you’re clean don’t mean you don’t miss it…/ the drought was the very worst.” Preach!

The album was officially released today, October 28th, and is poised to sell a shit ton of copies. Finally, a Taylor Swift album that I can understand being successful. I guess you can color me a fan, she has really delivered for this project. It doesn’t feel forced, and she has delivered a pretty stellar campaign as well. It’s a bit of fresh air in a stagnant pop pool. I’m curious to see what the rest of Q4 has in store for us.