Taylo Swify drops 7th studio album, Lover, but critics have something to say

Taylor Swift has released her much-anticipated 7th studio album titled, Lover Thursday night.

The album houses 18 songs, three of which are reportedly written entirely by the singer. It also includes a number of surprising names among its songwriting credits: Dixie Chicks, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, Cautious Clay, and producers Frank Dukes and Sounwave, the latter of whom played a role in some of Kendrick Lamar’s most popular songs.

In a post announcing the release on Instagram, Swift calls the album a “celebration of love, in all its complexity, cosiness, and chaos.

“It’s the first album of mine that I’ve ever owned, and I couldn’t be more proud. I’m so excited that Lover is out NOW,” the post says.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1fgxY-DsvJ/

Meanwhile, critics are sharing their first impression of the album.

The 18-track opus is “one big pop bubblegum blast” and is “her most mature collection as well as her most fun one“, says Variety.

But “not even Taylor Swift… can muster enough knockout tunes to fill 18 tracks“,  writes The Guardian’s critic, Alexis Petridis. While the highly-anticipated album offers evidence that Swift is “a better songwriter than any of her competitors in the upper echelons of pop,” it’s padded out with “lightweight” songs. Its “something-for-everyone approach feels like consolidation, not progress“, he declares.

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone’s Nick Catucci said it is “evolutionary rather than revolutionary“.

He continues: “But nevertheless it feels like an epiphany: free and unhurried, governed by no one concept or outlook, it represents Swift at her most liberated, enjoying a bit of the freedom she won for her cohort.”

Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz says: “It is a towering work that’s worth both close analysis on headphones and scream-alongs on stadium speakers.

“As a reflection of what Taylor Swift loves, Lover is whimsical, moving, imperfect, exhilarating. It’s a detailed snapshot that will endure.”

And it sees her make a return to “technicolor with an album filled with big-hearted love songs and diary-honest lyrics,” according to Time magazine’s Dana Schwartz.

But regardless of what critics say, fans are loving the album.

#Lover deserves to win AOTY at the Grammys. I want Taylor to be the first woman to win it 3 times with an album like Lover that shows growth/maturity, serves lyrics, has social commentary, gets painfully real, explodes with production, and drags men all at once

— Rachel ? (@13swift1989) August 23, 2019

I love how The Guardian calls #Lover too long when it’s not even close to the length of her longest deluxe album (Speak Now, 1h 41 mins), and only 6 minutes longer than reputation (55 mins), and 7 minutes shorter than 1989 deluxe (1h 8 mins) pic.twitter.com/lohDW44Ntz

— nino (fan) ? (@tayloredswift) August 23, 2019

#lover is the best album released this year i don’t care what tasteless critics say pic.twitter.com/hLO1z0TkwL

— bea ?? buy lover NOW (@IDlDSUMTHINGBAD) August 23, 2019

Use this link to stream Lover from all the major platforms.