Taylor Swift’s newest studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is fundamentally a victim of mismanaged expectations. When she announced the title and release date on Aug. 12, there seemed to be a noticeable shift from the somber and introspective mood of her previous release, “The Tortured Poets Department.” With glittery orange fonts and photoshoots evoking the glamour of Las Vegas, many fans expected a return to the upbeat thrillers of her 2014 blockbuster “1989,” which slingshotted her into superstardom.
Speculation continued when it was revealed that Max Martin and Shellback, producers of “1989” and her 2017 album “Reputation,” would return for “The Life of a Showgirl.” Swift seemed to confirm rumors of the album’s sound on fiance Travis Kelce’s podcast “New Heights,” where she proclaimed “The Life of a Showgirl” would have “melodies that [are] so infectious that you’re almost angry at it.” Kelce, having already heard the album, claimed “they’re all 12 bangers.”
Unfortunately, those expecting bangers with infectious melodies may be left feeling disappointed by this album. Swift does start off strong, with energetic, retro-inspired songs “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Opalite,” as well as “Elizabeth Taylor,” which features darker, heavier instrumentals reminiscent of her own “Reputation.” However, most of “The Life of a Showgirl” feels musically safe and unexciting.
After these first three songs, the album settles into mid-tempo acoustic pop, a style Swift has employed numerous times throughout her career, on albums like “Red” and “Fearless.” Beyond the occasional harp on “Father Figure” and the stray violins on the title track, the production is predominantly guitar, simple drum loops and piano. The homogenous instrumentation of “The Life of a Showgirl” leads to an underwhelming listening experience, especially when compared to the bold imagery of the record’s various covers.
But for many fans of Swift’s work, her lyricism has always been a bigger selling point than the production. Despite that, her writing on “The Life of a Showgirl” feels surprisingly shallow. On the aptly named “Eldest Daughter,” the fifth track of the album, Swift touches on the struggles of “eldest daughter syndrome,” which has garnered online attention in recent years. However, she only manages to muster up “Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter / So we all dressed as wolves and we looked fire,” a clunky showing from the songwriter.
On the chorus, she sings “But I’m not a bad b-tch / And this isn’t savage.” The line’s use of modern-day slang immediately dates “Eldest Daughter,” and this problem persists on several of the songs on “The Life of a Showgirl.” On “CANCELLED!” Swift sings, “Did you girlboss too close to the sun?” Much of her previous work has had a timeless quality to it, with people of all ages being able to relate to her sentiments. “The Life of a Showgirl,” on the other hand, contains her most overt references to the present day, and the result is an album that will not have nearly as much longevity.
Sometimes, it feels as if Swift is attempting to emulate other people’s style, to mixed effect. The track “Wood” features some of her most suggestive lyrics yet. In the post-chorus, she sings “Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see / His love was the key that opened my thighs.” Combined with the Jackson 5-esque instrumental, it ultimately does not land quite as smoothly as the risque songs of other popstars, such as Sabrina Carpenter and Beyoncé. Shades of Carpenter’s signature tongue-in-cheek humor can be heard on “Wood,” but Carpenter’s songs often have better execution in their production choices and vocal delivery.
Beyond herself and her lover, Swift also directs her attention to her adversaries. “Actually Romantic,” speculated to be about Charli xcx, unfortunately lacks the incisiveness often expected of a great diss track. The song is soundtracked by little more than a mellow guitar, and Swift does not sound particularly confident when throwing jabs at this figure. “Actually Romantic” has been compared to Charli xcx’s “Sympathy is a knife,” also rumored to be about Swift. Comparing the two, “Sympathy is a knife” presents a much more compelling and vulnerable story than “Actually Romantic.”
“Ruin The Friendship,” arriving halfway through the album, feels out of place in “Showgirl.” She recounts a story about a high school friend who passed away, and how she wished she had pursued a romantic relationship with him. The song is pleasant to listen to, but high school tales are a Taylor Swift staple, and its inclusion raises questions about what exactly it has to do with showgirls.
Notably, the majority of the songs on “The Life of a Showgirl” do not seem to be in line with the aesthetics that Swift has shown for this era. “The Life of a Showgirl,” the title track and the final song on the album, showcases both Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. At the very end, they bow to an imaginary audience — “That’s our show / We love you so much / Goodnight.” The song would be a fitting end for a showgirl-themed album, but the rest of the album does not evoke this.
Instead, many of the tracks on “The Life of a Showgirl” feel rehashed, as if they were pulled from songwriting sessions for her previous albums. It results in a listening experience that feels unfocused, especially for an artist who is known for her strong point of view in her works.
Regardless, this era has already proven to be a commercial hit. The album sold 2.7 million copies on its first day, becoming one of the fastest-selling albums of all time. Lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” broke the record for the most-streamed song in a single day in history on Spotify and is predicted to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 comfortably. She has entered a phase in her career where she has become too big to fail, and it begs the question of whether or not this is stunting her artistic growth. Based on “The Life of a Showgirl”, it looks like it is.
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