The official album cover of The Life of a Showgirl (Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott)

It was October 3—the day I had been waiting for for months. I hopped onto my bed, but instead of closing my eyes, I opened Apple Music (don’t judge me, Spotify supremacists). I quickly found the much-anticipated new Taylor Swift album, The Life of a Showgirl, and pressed play. As “The Fate of Ophelia,” the album’s first song, began playing, I was transported to an alternate world made of glitter and romantic word play: exactly as I had expected.

This August, while on Travis Kelce (Swift’s fiancé) and Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, Taylor Swift announced the October 3 release date of her 12th album: The Life of A Showgirl (TLOAS). Now, post-release, I couldn’t be happier with it.

TLOAS feels like a dance party. From the upbeat pop sounds of “Opalite” and “The Fate of Ophelia” to the romantic “Wi$h Li$t,” it is clear that Swift is in a happy and secure place in life. It is obvious that Swift has left behind the desponding lyrics of The Tortured Poets Department and entered a phase of looking past the negativity thrown at her from past relationships and the music industry. While this album may not be as lyrically compelling as previous albums, TLOAS is definitely one of the most fun Taylor Swift albums to listen to.

The final track, “The Life of a Showgirl” (featuring Sabrina Carpenter), is a great example of Taylor Swift’s undeniable storytelling capabilities—and is one of my favorites off of the album. The song follows a character whose perspective is narrated by Swift. This character yearns to live a life of fame and glamour, similar to that of a showgirl named Kitty, whom the narrator idolizes. 

Songs like this—ones that tell a very clear story—are often my favorites. As a writer with a large imagination, these songs are the most appealing to me because I love visualizing the storylines in my head. My favorite song, “The Last Great American Dynasty” from folklore, for example, tells the story of Rebekah Harkness, an American composer and socialite who was the previous owner of a Rhode Island mansion that Swift purchased in 2013. So, I was immediately excited when I heard the opening line, “Her name was Kitty,” while listening to “The Life of a Showgirl.”

While “The Life of a Showgirl” was quickly my favorite song on the album, track five, “Eldest Daughter,” took a bit longer for me to appreciate. The song attempts to be deep with lines like, “Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter,” but because it covers so many seemingly disconnected subjects, it feels shallow and underdeveloped. Unfortunately, I cannot see the connection between the seemingly detached ideas about being the oldest daughter, wanting to look cool on the internet, and romance. The song is also a slow ballad, directly juxtaposing the upbeat feel of the rest of the album that I love so much. 

However, as I’ve listened to the album more, “Eldest Daughter” has grown on me. I do think the bridge is quite beautifully written, “We lie back / A beautiful, beautiful time lapse / Ferris wheels, kisses and lilacs / And things I said were dumb / ‘Cause I thought that I’d never find that beautiful, beautiful life that / Shimmers that innocent light back / Like when we were young.” The vivid imagery makes it easy for listeners to relate, no matter their eldest daughter status. 

“Father Figure” is another song that has really grown on me since my first listen. On the day of the release, I listened to “Father Figure” while on FaceTime with a friend—and I really disliked the song. I thought that it was odd, and the excessive use of profanity was really off-putting. However, through attending the AMC “Release Party of a Showgirl,” I learned that the song is about exploitation and mentor-mentee relationships in the music industry, alluding to her past with Scooter Braun. Gaining a better understanding of the song made me really appreciate the lyricism, and the message of the track clicked for me. I especially love the chorus, which perfectly illustrates the father figure metaphor, “You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drowning / Whose portrait’s on the mantle? / Who covered up your scandals? / Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled.”

Throughout this album, Swift showcases how she has matured as a vocalist. In “Honey,” a cute and romantic song about how the meanings of pet names have shifted from being dreaded terms thrown at her passively-aggressively to terms of endearment used by her now fiancé, she plays with fun vocal slides. “Ruin the Friendship,” a roller coaster of a song about how Swift regrets not starting a relationship with a high school classmate who passed away, features cool riffs. It feels really special to listen to TLOAS in conjunction with Swift’s earlier albums, which she released as a teenager, and see her growth as an artist. 

Still, her vocal cords aren’t the only thing that has matured: her lyrics have, too. “Wood,” which originally seemed to be a fun, upbeat song about superstitions, is coated in sultry and suggestive lyrics about redwood trees and magic wands. TLOAS also features more swear words than previous albums, with eight out of the 12 songs being marked as explicit. To be fair, this does seem to be a trend in her more recent works. “Down Bad” from The Tortured Poets Department features 18 f-bombs. 

Unlike recent albums, TLOAS was produced by the Swedish pair Max Martin and Shellback, who have never been the sole producers on a Taylor Swift album. The musicians worked with Swift on several songs off of 1989 and Reputation, including popular tunes like “Shake It Off” and “Delicate.” The pair has not worked with Taylor Swift since her Reputation era, and Reputation’s fingerprints are apparent through the edgy sounds of “CANCELLED!!” and “Elizabeth Taylor.” “Elizabeth Taylor,” which draws parallels between the lives of Swift and the 1940s Hollywood star, especially seems to be straight from the reputation vault. It features effortlessly cool lines such as, “Cry my eyes violet Elizabeth Taylor / Tell me for real, do you think it’s forever?” and “Be my NY when Hollywood hates me.”

Critics have poked fun at the lyricism of this album, saying it felt too “millennial” and pointing out that throughout TLOAS, Swift seems to rely on slang phrases such as “Boss-Up” or “Girl Boss.” Personally, I don’t see a problem with her using such language. I don’t think this album is asking to be taken as seriously as folklore or evermore with their heart-wrenching, life-contemplating lyrics. The fun and often silly lyricism of TLOAS reflects that. I mean, who would cry while humming along to, “Please, God, bring me a best friend / Who I think is hot”? All in all, I am extremely happy with this album and can’t wait to see what Taylor Swift does next.