We mourned the loss of a bright musical artist, Taylor Swift, on Aug. 27.
Or maybe we just mourned her reputation and tried to welcome her newly-modified self through the singer’s new hit singles “…Ready For It?” and “Look What You Made Me Do.”
In the past, the star featured a more gentle sound, displaying a girl-next-door persona in albums like “Fearless” and “Taylor Swift.” In fact, the hit singer started off her career in singing country music, but now she’s moved away from the Billy Ray Cyrus scene and has begun to make a name for herself in the hip-hop world.
“Look What You Made Me Do” was just the first track released from Swift’s new “Reputation” album. On Sept. 3, Swift also released “…Ready For It?,” which is similar to her first release. Both tracks featured techno-inspired beats with mediocre lyrics to support their melodies.
While listening to each track, I did notice a couple pros to go with all the cons. “Look What You Made Me Do” was very catchy. Swift uses the power of repetition to hook the listener into the song. Even though I did not enjoy the dull lyrics and the garage band beat behind Swift’s words, I do have to say that the song was playing on repeat in my brain for the rest of the day.
If I had to choose which track I liked better, I would pick “…Ready For It?.” While analyzing the track, I heard a new sound in Swift’s voice that I can’t say I hate. Her tone was much sharper than before, but she smoothed out the edges by keeping her signature sweetness still audible. The downside is the overuse of computerized drum beats and the unsettling buzzing noise as an opening tune and a disappointing drop in the middle of the song.
Altogether, Swift’s new hit singles are more surprising to me than anything. She is not a bad musical artist, but her new album “Reputation” has turned my mind into thinking that she’s burying her talent under mechanical-sounding noise and repetitive, disappointing lyrics.
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