POP/ROCK
Taylor Swift, "Reputation" (Big Machine)
Taylor Swift is known for the kiss-off, the eerily intimate way she dismantles those who have wronged her. She is a songwriter and performer who has long thrived on antagonism (it's one of her two poles; the other is swooning), and no pop star of the modern era has communicated the contours of her disappointment with such emotional precision and melodic sophistication.
"I Did Something Bad," which comes third on her new album, "Reputation," has all the hallmarks of a classic Swift assault: lyrics about men who are out of their depth sprinkled with just enough details to imply grave shortcomings. But the chorus is something different: "They say I did something bad/Then why's it feel so good?" On the surface, it's an awakening, but really, it's a takedown. The target is herself — her innocence, her naiveté, the way in which striving to be flawless is perhaps the ultimate flaw.
The bombastic, unexpected, sneakily potent "Reputation" is many things: It's the first album on which Swift has cursed ("damn" doesn't count); it's the first time she has sung about consuming alcohol (and repeatedly at that); and it's the vehicle for her most overt songs about sexual agency. Swift is 27 now, and the things she used to deny herself — in song, at least — are no more. But it is also Swift chasing that good feeling, pushing back against a decade of following her own instincts. And it works. "Reputation" is fundamentally unlike any of her other albums in that it takes into account — prioritizes, actually — the tempo and tone of her competition. "Reputation" is a public renegotiation, engaging pop music on its terms, not hers.
She still has adversaries in her sights; there are jabs at Kanye West, and also at an ex-boyfriend or two. But here, too, she turns the magnifying glass around. Some some of the most caustic and aware songwriting on this album is about herself. "Getaway Car" is about what happens when you leap blithely from one relationship to another. Swift is at her imagistic best here: "The ties were black, the lies were white/in shades of gray in candlelight/I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason."
This is familiar Swift stuff — or at least, what was once familiar Swift stuff. On this album, it's no longer the priority. The album closer, "New Year's Day," is the only acoustic song, and also one of the best written (though it feels as indebted to Ed Sheeran as to Swift).
It is also probably the only song here that, upon first listen, doesn't prompt the existential question of what, exactly, constitutes a Taylor Swift song in 2017. In making her most modern album — one in which she steadily visits hostile territory and comes out largely unscathed — Swift has actually delivered a brainteaser: If you're using other people's parts, can you ever really re-create your self?
JON CARAMANICA, New York Times
new releases
• Barenaked Ladies, "Fake Nudes"
• Charlotte Gainsbourg, "Rest"
• Mavis Staples, "If All I Was Was Black"
• Morrissey, "Low in High School"
• Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, "Soul of a Woman"
