For those of you who may not know, I am probably one of the biggest fans of Taylor Swift you will ever meet. And when she announced her 10th studio album, Midnights, I was very excited. These thirteen tracks were written throughout her life at midnight, and the additional 7 bonus tracks (called the 3 am tracks) were written in that time frame as well. Taylor Swift is a lyrical genius, and I couldn’t have been more excited to give the album a listen. At this point, I have listened to the album countless times, so I am going to review each song, with a score out of 10 and some important details!

Lavender Haze 6/10:

This song is a great opening to her album, with the token “meet me at midnight” in the first few lyrics. This song has a cool vibe, with some awesome instrumental backgrounds. Additionally, the lyrics are creative and tell a very clear story. Lavender Haze starts the album off on a great track, and sets up the tone and beat of the album very nicely.

Maroon 8/10:

This song has consistently been one of my underrated picks. The lyricism is just absolutely gorgeous. From the clear picture of the story to the different shades of red mentioned throughout the song, this track is a clear example of Taylor Swift’s brilliance.

Anti-Hero 6/10:

This provoking track was initially one of my favorites, but has fallen in rankings since then. The lyricism and storytelling in this song is gorgeous, as is every other Taylor Swift song ever. However, certain lyrics like “sexy baby” make me cringe, and the sheer amount of remixes released for this song turn me off. Even though it is not one of my favorite tracks anymore, the catchiness and sing-along-ability is super strong. 

Snow on the Beach (feat Lana Del Rey) 5/10:

Ok I’ve got to be honest, this song was initially a skip for me. It just is not as interesting as the other tracks and doesn’t have enough going on for me, but after listening to it multiple times, the sheer brilliance of the imagery and lyricism that comes through has easily bumped this song up quite a few places in my ranking. Also, I was super disappointed that Lana Del Rey was given such a background feature; I had really hoped to actually be able to hear her voice in this song.

You’re On Your Own, Kid 10/10:

This. Song. This track hits me so deeply, especially as someone who is growing up and about to go off to college. Seriously, the lyrics in this song made me cry the first time I listened to it, and it’s probably a song I’d play for my therapist. Not only is it up beat with devastating lyrics, but the bridge has me on my knees every time I listen to it. This bridge is by far the best on this album. If I were to recommend one song off of Midnights for you to listen to, it would be this one.

Midnight Rain 4/10:

This song is kind of on the mediocre side for me. Following such a devastating track, Midnight Rain doesn’t live up to its expectations. I mean, it isn’t bad by any means, but it isn’t as good as many of the other songs on this album. This track just didn’t have enough excitement for me to be impressed by it in a significant way. Also, it is kind of repetitive.

Question..? 8/10:

This is probably one of my favorite tracks on this album. This song is upbeat and the lyrics are exciting, but the best part is the sing-along-ability. After just one or two listens, I was able to fully jam to this song, especially the awesome chorus. Also, the storytelling is just picture-perfect in this track. 

Vigilante Sh*t 4/10:

I can see how some people really like this song, but it was just not for me at all. It felt almost cringey in a sense, and didn’t have enough intriguing musical elements for me to really enjoy it. This particular track felt like a reputation wannabe for me, and even though I love reputation very much, it didn’t have the same oomph those songs did. Although the line “someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI” is a great lyric in my opinion.

Bejeweled 6/10:

Originally, I didn’t love this song because it seemed too “poppy”, but the more I’ve listened to it, I appreciate it more and more. First of all, the TikTok dance associated with this song is absolutely golden, and the lyric “I’m going out tonight” has also been utilized pretty heavily on TikTok. I think that the lyricism and musical tone/beat in this song was executed really well. 

Labyrinth 9/10:

This song is one of my favorites on the album. The storytelling is just immaculate. It very clearly demonstrates the entire process of falling in love in the chorus, which consistently tickles my hopeless romantic heart. It is also super catchy and I love the tune of this track. Also, the elephant-ish sound in the background cracks me up every single time.

Karma 5/10:

This song didn’t do much for me. I know it is many people’s favorite, but it seemed almost cringey to me. The whole “Karma is…” thing was a set of lyrics that I didn’t love and didn’t do much for me, so given that that is a good portion of the song, it makes sense that I didn’t love this song much. I will acknowledge that the beat is really upbeat and it is super catchy, which I appreciate.

Sweet Nothing 7/10:

This song is one of the slower songs on the album, but is not sad in any way. It is pretty slow, but the lyrics are just absolutely breathtaking. I feel like it tells the story of a couple in the middle of true love, which is just super wholesome. The lyric “On the way home, I wrote a poem. You say ‘what a mind’, this happens all the time” makes me especially happy, as it is clear that whoever the love interest in this song is truly in love.

Mastermind 9/10:

This song is frankly just a masterpiece. First of all, not only is it relatable, but the lyrics and tune are super catchy and exciting to listen to. I felt like the storytelling in this song was particularly fabulous, especially at the end, when it was revealed that the lover knew of the mastermind’s “manipulation” the entire time. Some of the lyrics in this track hit me hard in the chest as well, as you can really see the reason the mastermind is so manipulative is because of their childhood in the bridge, which is arguably one of the best bridges in this album.

3 am Tracks

The Great War 10/10:

I cannot explain how much I love this song. The storytelling is just immaculate and once again shows the story of true, unbreaking love through hardship. The chorus and bridge both have some of my favorite lyrics in the whole album, and are not only hard-hitting but catchy. Also, I’d like to thank Taylor Swift for making this song so easy to play on the guitar, because that has definitely made me like this song more.

Bigger Than the Whole Sky 8/10:

This song is most definitely the saddest on the album. It details a loss of a loved one, especially that of a tragedy or untimely death, and is just absolutely breathtakingly devastating. If you need a good cry, this is definitely the song to go to, and it just breaks my heart every time I listen. Even though it is so sad, this song is one of the best on the album because of the lyrics and the storytelling. 

Paris 6.5/10:

I have very mixed feelings about this track. I like the upbeat nature of it, but the tune and lyrics are less interesting to me. I honestly can’t really explain why this song isn’t my favorite, because I don’t have any concrete complaints, other than it is maybe a little bit too “poppy” for me, but something about this song just doesn’t excite me as much as the others.

High Infidelity 6/10:

Similar to Vigilante Sh*t, this song is just too reputation wannabe for me, but I do enjoy it much better than the other song. I think what bothers me is the electronic background sound effects, because I think without that I’d actually enjoy it much more. The lyrics are pretty fabulous, however. The storytelling is really impressive, telling the story of, as the title suggests, some kind of infidelity or cheating. I don’t hate this song, but it could be better.

Glitch 4/10:

This song is definitely my skip out of the album. I really don’t like the electronic sound effects, and the lyrics don’t do it for me in this song. Also, this song is just too short at literally 2 minutes and 28 seconds. I think that this song could be better if it was longer and had an interesting bridge or something, because it is just kind of boring as is.

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve 9/10:

So I think we can all agree that John Mayer, who this song is written about, is a pedophile. Taylor has written multiple times about how he, a 30 something year old man, groomed her, a 19 year old then, into a relationship and was manipulative. This song makes this sense of “childhood-stealing” super clear. Many lyrics like, “And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil at 19” concretely demonstrate this point. The bridge absolutely wrecks me, especially the part “give me back my girlhood”, and I just feel absolutely heartbroken for young Taylor after listening to this song. It is just so full of anger and hurt, and that makes this song one of the most powerful on the album.

Dear Reader 6/10:

This song is kind of an enigma to me. I genuinely cannot place how I feel about it. Frankly, I don’t love it because it is kind of repetitive, but I think that the storytelling and rhetorical situation (thanks AP Lang with Ms. Raffaele) leads this to be a really fascinating track. Taylor is clearly giving her listeners advice, and I think that aspect to the song makes it kinda interesting, even if the lyrics and tune aren’t as amazing. I also think that it closes the album with a good sense of finality.

Overall, I really like this album, and think it is one of her best yet. I would strongly recommend everyone give Midnights a listen, and I hope to hear your thoughts as well!

Photo by Jovan Vasiljević on Unsplash