On November 10, singer/songwriter Taylor Swift released her sixth album “Reputation”. The album consists of 15 songs, including her previously released singles “Look What You Made Me Do,” “Ready For It,” and “Gorgeous.” Unavailable on Spotify, the album can only be bought in stores and on Apple Music.   

Taylor Swift originally became known in the music industry as a country artist, releasing songs like “Tim McGraw,” “Tear Drops on my Guitar,” and “Picture to Burn.” Making the switch to primarily pop music in 2012, Swift released “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Following its release, Swift continued to produce pop music hits such as “Shake it Off” and others featured in her 2014 album “1989.”

This album is nothing short of what you might expect from Swift: a well-produced album with immense song quality and a setlist that includes featured artists like Future and Ed Sheeran. “Reputation” consists primarily of pop songs, but as speculated before its release it contains elements of hip hop and R&B. Each song included on the album “Reputation” has an individualized sound formed by different paced tempos and occasionally a featured artist.

Listening to it, Swift’s songs initially catch you off guard. Swift’s topics have become more vengeful, whereas in her previous albums her lyrics dealt with heartbreak. Despite this change, Swift’s lyrics still have the same quality that quickly grows on you and becomes very catchy.  

Aside from Swift’s consistency in quality, her album “1989” and “Reputation” can arguably be described as opposites. From the look of their album covers down to their lyrics, the two are clearly not alike. For example, the album cover of “1989” is a polaroid picture of Swift, in color, with bright red lipstick on, while the album cover of “Reputation” is a picture of Swift, in black and white, with black lipstick on. This noticeable difference between the two album covers helps Swift convey that there is an edgier side to “Reputation.”

The fact that the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cause she’s dead! is acknowledged in her lyrics from “Look What You Made Me Do.” In her five previous albums, Swift has implicitly shown the true meaning behind each of her songs. This is a common tactic used by many singer/songwriters. However, Swift took a different approach for “Reputation” and instead explicitly states each song’s true meaning through the lyrics.  

Just a few examples of this are when she sings I swear I don’t love the drama, it loves me, in “End Game.” This snippet of lyrics refers to Swift as she is seen in the public eye.

Another example is, I’ve been breakin’ hearts a long time, and toyin’ with them older guys, in “Don’t Blame Me”. This refers to Swift’s relationships with older men, such as Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, John Mayer, and Jake Gyllenhaal.  

A personal favorite would have to be “Getaway Car” because of its captivating lyrics like X marks the spot where we fell apart. It also has an intriguing beat. If you like Swift’s song “Out Of The Woods” from her album “1989”, you will like “Getaway Car” as they sound very similar.

No songs appear to be of a lower caliber or are sagging. The album includes 15 songs that provide the audience with a variety of styles and lyrics to keep them engrossed for hours. Aside from the fact that the album is nothing less than exceptional, it also shows listeners a new side of Swift.  The rating of “Reputation” is 5/5 stars. 

For all you Swift fans, she has announced 27 of her tour dates for “Reputation.” The two tour dates for concerts nearest to us are Foxborough, MA on July 26, 2018 and East Rutherford, NJ on July 21, 2018. Be sure to watch out for when the tickets go on sale and check out her new reputation for yourself!