Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on Oct. 3, sparking mixed reactions from fans. Social media quickly filled with critiques, and many listeners were left underwhelmed.
Victoria Elefante, a senior English major and longtime Swift fan, said the album fell short of her expectations.
“Taylor is an excellent lyricist, and a lot of her music is really great, whichever genre she
inhabits,” Elefante said. “This album, to me, was very disappointing in that regard, especially in the writing.”
When asked about concerns over Swift’s reputation, Elefante wasn’t sure if the lackluster album would have a lasting impact.
“Taylor already gets a lot of negative attention from the public—for both valid concerns like white feminism, environmental issues and capitalistic exploitation, and less valid reasons like making music about her relationships or her age,” Elefante said. “However, I think this album is seeing more backlash from Swifties than we have ever seen before.”
Though Elefante wasn’t impressed overall, one song stuck in her head.
“None of the songs stood out to me particularly, but I think ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ has been stuck in my head the most. It’s very catchy,” she said.
Bella Jayson, a sophomore business major, found the album to be a surprising change.
“My first impression of the album was that it was a lot different from her previous work,” Jayson said. “It’s more of a moody vibe than the upbeat country she used to do.”
Asked to describe the new album in three words, Jayson chose “moody, romantic, and dramatic.”
Alex Peckham, a junior adolescent education major and production director for WPNR, Utica’s student-run radio station, offered a more critical perspective.
“I was not a fan,” Peckham said. “Its production was competent with a few fun moments, but most of the album’s melodies and sounds are just flavorless, unseasoned, blended-up chicken. And the lyrics? Juvenile, cringey, very out of touch, self-absorbed, loathsome, and several times blatantly ignorant if not racist.”
Despite his harsh critique, Peckham did praise the album’s opener, The Fate of Ophelia.
“I’m not too familiar with Hamlet, but I know good songwriting, and ‘Fate of Ophelia’ has it in abundance,” Peckham said. “A theatrical tale of love and despair with bulletproof melodies and dramatic yet bouncy production. Easily the best track and might even find itself on a playlist of mine.”
While The Fate of Ophelia has fans, the rest of the album seems to fall flat.
“I kinda wish this album was more like The Fate of Ophelia,” said Peckham “That’s the only song that feels theatrical and like, well, the album name, The Life of a Showgirl.”
