Midnights, Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album, strays away from the flowery “quill pen lyrics” of her last release, Evermore, and instead leans back into the colloquial, autobiographical synthpop realm developed on previous releases, 1989 and Reputation. Her first album solely produced by frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff, Midnights undoubtedly has his Bleachers-stained fingerprints all over it. Swift has described it as a “concept album,” consisting of 13 sleepless nights throughout her life. Midnights is very reminiscent of Swift’s earlier material, often borrowing elements from previous moments in her catalog. She seems to be deliberately recalling past themes and motifs from her musical past to contribute to this idea of “looking back.”  

“Lavender Haze,” an R&B-infused pop track, tackles gender roles and media scrutiny: “All they keep asking me / Is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kind of girl they see / Is a one-night or a wife.” The falsetto-heavy chorus interpolates “I Think He Knows” from Lover, bringing to mind the contrasting sentiments about marriage echoed within it. Clearly, Swift’s mind has changed from the days of “He better lock it down / Or I won’t stick around / ‘Cause good ones never wait.”  

“Maroon” calls back to Swift’s Red days, taking on a darker, more mature perspective on passionate, ill-fated New York love affairs. The first single, “Anti-Hero,” is a self-aware synth-heavy pop rock track that takes on an almost comedic approach to self-hatred. She seemingly calls out to both a lover and her audience in the lines, “I wake up screaming from dreaming / One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving / ‘Cause you got tired of my scheming.” 

Long-awaited Lana Del Rey collaboration, “Snow on the Beach,” is a delicate, nostalgic dream pop ballad that feels like a perfect balance of both of their styles. Despite being delegated to background vocals as Swift too-frequently does to her female collaborators, Del Rey gives a gorgeous vocal performance that complements Swift’s beautifully.  

“You’re On Your Own, Kid” is a vulnerable exploration of coping with rejection and growing up in the spotlight. It reads like a retelling of the story of her career in about three and a half minutes. The youthful hopeless romanticism referenced in the first verse calls back to the writing on Fearless and her debut album.  

 “Midnight Rain” could easily fit on Reputation, with its moody production and pitched-down hook. Reflecting on a past flame she pushed aside for career ambitions, Swift expresses regret for “the life [she] gave away.” Building upon the groundwork of Evermore’s “Champagne Problems,” she discusses the regrets and conflicting feelings that can come from not feeling ready for marriage.  

“Question…?” is a bubbly, upbeat collection of rhetorical questions to another former lover. Sampling 1989 track “Out of the Woods,” Swift ruminates over whether a past flame also feels that their subsequent romantic experiences don’t compare to their time together.  

“Vigilante Shit” is an exciting declaration of revenge in the same vein of Evermore’s “No Body No Crime.” Ditching the country instrumentation for an edgy synth pop sound,  Swift destroys an enemy’s marriage by informing the wife of their partner’s infidelity. It is the only track on Midnights in which the writing is solely credited to Swift.   

The second single, “Bejeweled,” is a disco-pop track a bit reminiscent of video game music. It admittedly falls somewhat flat compared to the other tracks with its “glitter gel pen” lyrics and “Me!”-esque cringe, but its star-studded music video is still great fun. 

 “Labyrinth” feels like a gentler Bon Iver or Big Red Machine song, with its unmistakably folk-electronica production, reminiscent of “The Archer” from Lover. Delicate and dreamy, the track has Swift marveling at how quickly one can fall in love, even at the worst of times.   

“Karma” is another silly, lighthearted track that is executed far better than “Bejeweled” before it. Swift seems to be poking fun at the theories behind her “lost album” here, which fans have affectionately named, “Karma.” The song brings out some humor when she sings, “Karma’s a relaxing thought / Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not? / Sweet like honey, Karma is a cat purring in my lap / ‘Cause it loves me.”  

“Sweet Nothing,” an intimate electronic piano ballad, is a wonderful highlight that calls to mind the simplicity of “New Year’s Day” from Reputation. Written with Swift’s partner Joe Alwyn (once again attributed as “William Bowery”), “Sweet Nothing” expresses gratitude for the emotional safety felt in a relationship.  

The album’s closer, “Mastermind,” plays with Swift’s reputation as a “calculator” and easter egg-dropper in a very self-aware and clever way. She flips the archetype given to her on its head and expresses some vulnerability in the bridge with: “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian / ‘Cause I care.” 

The bonus 3am tracks were released three hours after Midnights and produced by Aaron Dessner of The National.  

“The Great War” is reminiscent of the storytelling and flowery language present on Evermore. While the language itself is beautiful, I found the track to be a little underwhelming. The overlying metaphor is trite and a bit below Swift’s station as a songwriter. 

 “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” is a ballad about grief left open-ended. She parallels the language of later track “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” here to signify a similar sense of lost potential.  

“Paris” is a bubbly, high-spirited track about being in love and blocking the entire world out. Swift, evidently, cannot go an album without calling her boyfriend poor, and we love her for it. The track is charming and fun, but not as lyrically complex as some of the album’s standouts. 

 In “High Infidelity,” Swift takes more accountability toward infidelity than she has done in the past. Lyrically, the tone can come across as a bit confrontational, specifically in the lines: “Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th? / Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?” 

“Glitch” recounts a romantic relationship beginning as a friendship. She contrasts the sentiments depicted in songs like “Invisible String” from Folklore by likening the development of a relationship to a happy accident, rather than a fated circumstance.  

“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” showcases a retrospective point of view on an age-gap relationship and appears to serve as a thematic follow-up to “Dear John” from Speak Now  or “All Too Well” from Red. The bridge borrows a melodic motif from the bridge of Evermore’s “Happiness.” Her vulnerability here makes this the clear gem of the 3AM tracks. 

In “Dear Reader,” Swift warns her audience not to take her actions as an example, saying “You wouldn’t take my word for it if you knew who was talking.” The track feels like a more satisfying conclusion to an album that portrays Swift in a less overwhelmingly-positive light.  

Midnights successfully blends styles of previous releases to create a cohesive soundscape that addresses various moments in Swift’s personal past. While it does not incorporate as much of the folk-adjacent storytelling that was present on Folklore and Evermore, it showcases a Taylor Swift at her most confident as a pop star and lyricist. She’s vulnerable here, arguably more vulnerable than she has ever been. Her upcoming stadium tour, which is promised to also reflect moments of her personal and professional past, will surely impress.