KH

Been a Swiftie since fearless but this album is so self-indulgent and whiney that there's no way to defend it. There are moments of maturity and introspection but they are completely married by the overproduction and insincerity of the people at the helm of this album. It feels like there was almost no editting done which is unfortunate because done well, this album could've been good. Also, I cannot get over the surprise double release when fans already spent so much money on the other versions she released. Seems like a disservice to your supporters. You're already a billionaire, chill lol. The petulance and unhinged nature of some the lyrics...you can't commodify your whole life in the pursuit of superstardom and then complain about the consequences lol. They go hand in hand, everything has a price. And to market this as a bunch of diss tracks about a meaningful ex and then make it predominantly about a racist weirdo..."gotcha!", I guess? It does have some good moments that are true to what makes Taylor special but overall, this is a skip for me. I'm shocked it made it out of the studio because we did not need to know this stuff about her. Using "self-awareness" as a shield to defend the mediocrity of this album...it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. There's self-conscious and introspective art and then there's whatever this is.