Taylor Swift // The Life of a Showgirl
A rhinestone studded new era
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)
Album Artwork
It must be exhausting to be the biggest star in the world. A constant treadmill of show business just to stay the right amount in the public eye, teetering on the tightrope of overexposure even as you sell out the largest tour of all time and smash every chart record. This is what the twelfth album by Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”, promised to explore, a tell-all of the thrills and spills that come with living life on stage.
To reflect this showgirl persona, Swift aimed to depart from the sombre tone of “The Tortured Poets Department”, jettisoning Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner for the bubbly production of Max Martin and Shellback. Variety-wise, the production proves to be a step up from the previous release, where that album's crushing length washed out the production which left tracks blending together.
Additionally, motifs taken from decades of pop help the album feel distinctive in Swift's discography. Delivering a light-hearted experience that implores you to dance. Influences range across a plethora of iconic names; ABBA, The Jackson 5 and Fleetwood Mac to name just a few. These nods to other artists help to make the experience feel like a tour through the tracks that have inspired Swift, much in the same way that Fine Young Cannibals helped to inspire the sound of “1989” with “She Drives Me Crazy”.
As in any good show, the album starts out strong. With “The Fate of Ophelia” immediately introducing listeners to the warmer synths, rediscovered focus on melody and loved up lyricism that’s to come. Exploring how a strong love can help a scorned heart learn to love again, “The Fate of Ophelia” is an immediate tone shift from the monochrome predecessor, and sets the tone for an album that vibrantly and bombastically eschews melancholy.
A penchant for lyrical flourishes has always been one of Swift’s greatest strengths, with allusions, lore and storytelling allowing her to weave her songs into the hearts and minds of listeners as she paints vivid canvases through striking imagery. Themes explored remain in line with previous outings, as the concept of navigating love and loss under bright stage lights will no doubt have fans combing through the lyrics for secrets hidden by their favourite mastermind.
Interestingly, many of the lyrical and musical quirks of this album come from two recurring characters that appear throughout the album's 41-minute runtime. As Sabrina Carpenter and Travis Kelce appear as muses, maestros and collaborators. Carpenter looms large over both the musical palette and lyrical content of Showgirl. While Kelce acts as a strong source of romantic inspiration throughout. This coalesces on Jackson 5 infused “Wood” as the Carpenter-like tongue-in-cheek lyricism describes Kelce in detail.
Prominent Fleetwood Mac-crossed-with-disco vibes make “Opalite” shine within the track list as a standout moment. With jangling guitars wrapping around warm bass lines and a Motown-like chorus, Swift delivers a delightful ode to perseverance and letting go of past baggage.
A 90’s alt-rock riff leads into the venomous “Actually Romantic” where Swift muses on the attention and obsession she receives from haters, with particular attention paid to one in particular. Much speculation has been spun about who the target could be, but fans online have drawn parallels between the content and pop star Charli XCX. The song itself is a fun piece of pastel pop with a grungy chorus which could have fit on “Lover”, and seems pretty harmless as far as diss tracks go.
While a strong percentage of the tracks stand out, others fade into the background with the likes of “Wi$h Li$t” and “Elizabeth Taylor” failing to reach the heights set by the best on the album. Oddly, “Cancelled” marries some of the best production on the album with the flattest lyrics. While sonically the track builds into a confident strut that seems ready-made for stadiums, the lyrics fail to empower this. Syrupy sweet “Honey” serves as a touching love letter to how romance can recontextualise phrases and places, delivering the message with a lo-fi hip hop backing track.
“Ruin the Friendship” cruises along to an easy listening soft rock which gels well with Swift’s airy delivery. As the track progresses Swift delivers a narrative of almost high-school lovers separated by the platonic nature of their relationship before tragedy strikes. The structure and storytelling would fit right in alongside the fanciful dreaming of “Fearless” and “Speak Now”.
Title track “The Life of a Showgirl” features superstar Sabrina Carpenter as she duets with Swift on a song which aims to be a dramatic closer. Their voices complement each other well and the content of the song helps the album to end on a thematically strong note as the two pop stars contemplate the clandestinely treacherous business that they have navigated.
“Life of a Showgirl” achieves glimpses of what it sets out to accomplish, a glittering exposé of being the biggest star on the planet but with a lot more heart and contentedness than many may have expected. As the album closes it sees Swift accomplished, having reached the summit of the musical world through charts, tours and by reclaiming her albums. Since the Era’s tour, Swift has released vast amounts of music. With the next album in her discography being her much anticipated thirteenth (her lucky number) album. As it is, this twelfth installment should top charts and keep fans content until then.
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Review By: Sam McNaughton
