In The Haze Of ' Midnights ' Taylor Swift Softens Into An Expanded Sound HEAD TOPICS

In The Haze Of ' Midnights ' Taylor Swift Softens Into An Expanded Sound

10/21/2022 11:00:00 PM

Swift uses Midnights as a way to rethink the sonic rhetoric of first-person storytelling and shake off habits that have served her artistically and commercially for more than a decade

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LAist

Swift uses Midnights as a way to rethink the sonic rhetoric of first-person storytelling and shake off habits that have served her artistically and commercially for more than a decade Swift uses Midnights as a way to rethink the sonic rhetoric of first-person storytelling and shake off habits that have served her artistically and commercially for more than a decade These stories won't surprise anyone, but their form may catch appreciators of Swift's conversational singing style off-guard. She's still sing-talking, doing that expert, subtle interpolations of hip-hop's cadences and country crooners' relaxed timbre. But often, she and Antonoff twist and push her gleaming vocals in new directions. That's where the softening happens. For all of her kindness in the world and empathy and dedication to openness as a songwriter, Taylor Swift is, in her essence, sharp. Her vulnerability hides a blade. This quality resides in her voice, a weightless instrument that Swift has honed over time into Valyrian steel — glamorous, gleaming, but more deadly than it appears. Sharpness is also key to Swift's perspective, surfacing in her love of the telling detail, of the rejoinder that cuts through whatever bulls*** the object of her love/hate has burdened her with. It's a quality associated with gamine women, boyish in their agility and their cool refusal to be seduced. It is not lush; by some definitions, it's not feminine. It can be misunderstood as pettiness or even cruelty. Read more:
LAist » Taylor Swift Leaves Fans Breathless by Revealing ‘Midnights’ Lyrics She First Teased 5 Months Ago Taylor Swift to Tease ‘Midnights' Album During Thursday Night Football Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn appear to have collaborated again on 'Midnights' track CNN Taylor Swift Reveals First Look at ‘Midnights’ Music Videos Featuring Haim, Laura Dern and More

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The pop star revisits her best—and boldest—outfits over her career. Read more >> Taylor Swift Leaves Fans Breathless by Revealing ‘Midnights’ Lyrics She First Teased 5 Months AgoThe pop star first shared the line with unsuspecting fans during her NYU commencement speech. Taylor Swift to Tease ‘Midnights' Album During Thursday Night FootballTaylor Swift will tease her new album, “Midnights,” in the third quarter of Thursday Night Football between the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn appear to have collaborated again on 'Midnights' track CNNAs Swifties around the world countdown to midnight and the release of Taylor Swift's tenth album 'Midnights,' she's tried to keep her fans happy by dropping a few hints about her new music in recent days. Who and who? Taylor Swift called out George Soros over the rights to her music. Is she Anti-Semetic or only Ye? Taylor Swift Reveals First Look at ‘Midnights’ Music Videos Featuring Haim, Laura Dern and MoreTaylor Swift gave fans an early glimpse at the music videos for her 10th album, “Midnights,” in a teaser trailer during “Thursday Night Football.” “I just wanted to fi… 🔥🥳🥳🥳🥳 Been up for it Taylor Swift Shares Teaser Trailer for 'Midnights' Music Videos During Thursday Night FootballLaura Dern, the Haim sisters, Jack Antonoff, Mike Birbiglia and more appear in the clips, which Swift made with cinematographer Rina Yang Looks like the Buzzer$ work late tonight to stream TSmidnighTS 😂 Taylor Swift Is Selling Over 20 Versions of ‘Midnights’ in Different Styles and FormatsTaylor Swift Is selling more than 20 versions of TSmidnighTS in different styles & formats. she is everything Delete Keep this tweet away from YSLONIKA :-((( Watch: LA City Council Meets After Kevin De León Says He Will Not Resign These stories won't surprise anyone, but their form may catch appreciators of Swift's conversational singing style off-guard.speech Swift gave at NYU’s spring commencement ceremony , at which she was presented with an honorary doctorate in fine arts.Super Bowl , but she is using the NFL to promote her new music.As Swifties around the world countdown to midnight and the release of Taylor Swift’s tenth album “Midnights,” she’s tried to keep her fans happy by dropping a few hints about her new music in recent days. She's still sing-talking, doing that expert, subtle interpolations of hip-hop's cadences and country crooners' relaxed timbre. But often, she and Antonoff twist and push her gleaming vocals in new directions. Earlier in the speech, the singer-songwriter also said, “Scary news is, you’re on your own now. That's where the softening happens. “And you would see it before the ‘Midnights’ album came out. For all of her kindness in the world and empathy and dedication to openness as a songwriter, Taylor Swift is, in her essence, sharp.” Sounds eerily similar to the title of Midnights track five , “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” doesn’t it? The locations of Swift’s lyric reveals were all teased by Spotify’s official Twitter account a few hours before each billboard went up, meaning Swifties in each of the lucky cities had the chance to hunt them down before 12 a. Her vulnerability hides a blade. “There’s been a lot of discussion about William Bowery and his identity, because it’s not a real person,” Swift said in the documentary. This quality resides in her voice, a weightless instrument that Swift has honed over time into Valyrian steel — glamorous, gleaming, but more deadly than it appears. and watch live as new lyrics were unveiled. Sharpness is also key to Swift's perspective, surfacing in her love of the telling detail, of the rejoinder that cuts through whatever bulls*** the object of her love/hate has burdened her with. It's a quality associated with gamine women, boyish in their agility and their cool refusal to be seduced. In the moments leading up to the “All Too Well” singer’s newest reveal, a group congregated nearby and joined together in a performance of “August,” a track off Swift’s Folklore. It is not lush; by some definitions, it's not feminine. It can be misunderstood as pettiness or even cruelty. On Midnights Swift and Antonoff alter her voice in ways that fight against its cool glint, multitracking it until it glows, altering its pitch at times so that it's barely recognizable. On"Midnight Rain" it's auto-tuned to vacillate between birdlike high notes and an almost masculine lower register, punctuating the story the verses tell of a young woman outgrowing a relationship with a sound that evokes that process of unfolding into a new self."Labyrinth" — as good as any song inspired by one of her favorite subjects, the experience of still hanging on when you have to let go — melts her voice into myriad light streams, some as twisted as in a Bon Iver song, others clearly hers. These synthetic renderings work against the high craft of Swift's meticulous songwriting, the neatness and control that makes her songs powerful but that can also diminish their emotional impact. Usually she's explaining every move she makes, but here the music pulls her into the eternal now of her emotions, working against her persistent impulse to make sense of them. Though they always return to the lucidity at Swift's core, these efforts recall the metamorphic effect of songs like SOPHIE 's"Is It Cold in the Water?," opening up to modes of feeling that defeat neat storylines. Those who treasure Swift's Dorothy Parker side, her wit and tartness, needn't worry. She's up to her old ways in songs like"Karma" (it's her boyfriend, the breeze in her hair on the weekend, a relaxing thought) and"Vigilante S***," a vampy number whose dropped beat recalls"killer" by FKA twigs ."Question.. .?" is the kind of story song only Swift can write, dipping into gel-pen poetry to cultivate a swoony mood, then focusing on a scene of romantic persuasion and betrayal drawn so acutely that it stings."Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room / And every single one of your friends was making fun of you / But 15 seconds later they were clapping too?" Swift sings, perfectly describing the way uncertain love can be solidified by social pressure, the way women in particular can be cornered by others' desires for them. Then, of course, the pushy paramour leaves in the middle of the night. This is the kind of truth-telling that's earned Swift the devotion of her fans. She still notices the little things that shatter a person. The question this album poses is, who is that person? On its deepest level, Midnights is an interrogation of the first person, an attempt to find its origin point not in well-spun confessions but in the more confused and prescient utterances that come before any conclusions are drawn. That Antonoff and Swift explore this misty space through sound instead of more directly, through words, sometimes lends a half-finished quality to Swift and Antonoff's experiments. A certain kind of listener will wish that Midnights were weirder, more committed to its distortions. That listener might also draw a strange parallel to 808s & Heartbreak , the artistic breakthrough of Ye, her erstwhile antagonist (who then went by Kanye West). That was also a work about disordered emotions that relies on technology to express the kind of vulnerability that can't be contained in standard rhymes. In 2022, there's no doubt that Swift is the artist who's still growing, pushing herself to understand what it means to be a public figure who is also a person with faults and unresolved pain. She's still working to slacken the hold of the Old Taylor — of the many Old Taylors she's constructed through her music and celebrity. The multiform voice on Midnights suggests that the New Taylor is still emerging out of the haze. What questions do you have about Southern California? Ask a Question .