One great fact about Taylor Swift is she relishes the opportunity to make creative album titles; this time, the title 1989 celebrates her birth year. The 13-track album is inspired by music of the 1980s. Personally, it is awesome that she decided to make an all-pop album since I believe that’s where she belongs.
Transitioning from country to pop was quite gradual for Swift considering her previous albums had traces of pop mixed in with the other songs that were country only in nature. This transition for her was necessary since I like her music better that way. I will miss her playing guitar, but the deluxe edition of the album features a guitar version of one of her songs. I really love listening to pop music since it is fun and easy to dance to, 1989 allows me to listen to that type of music.
1989 was heavily promoted in the months leading up to its release. The first song “Shake it Off” was a No. 1 on iTunes shortly after its release followed by the second single, “Out Of The Woods.” This particular song was one of my personal favorites because of her voice and the lyrics were very pretty to listen to. “Shake it Off” had Swift singing a full pop song with an upbeat feel and an itch to dance through the entire thing. When I first heard the song, I really liked it since it allowed me to dance, it also makes me very happy to hear her sing.
“Out Of The Woods” slows the beat down while transitioning into Swift’s undeniable talent of storytelling of a previous relationship. The song showcases Swift’s stellar vocals with background vocals that were not done by her. She keeps the listener guessing as she makes the song suspenseful by asking ‘Are we out of the woods yet?’
Another highlight of the album is the song “Welcome to New York” which paints a wonderful picture of the city that never sleeps. I would like to think this is an ode to Swift’s decision to move to the Big Apple from Nashville after her last album. This song lifts me up and makes me want to travel to New York to see what is so inspiring about it. I love the lyrics in the song because they really set the mood for the rest of the pop album because of their liveliness.
“I Know Places” revisits the anxiety of “Out Of the Woods” when Swift sings the lyrics ‘They are the hunters, we are the foxes.’ Lyrics like that suggest the need to run and hide from a stressful relationship that Swift ultimately turned into a song.
The album is quite remarkable, and I believe Swift will go far as a pop artist. For non-fans, who are on the fence about listening to the album, you won’t regret it.
