Lover
| Taylor Swift
Lover
Lover is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on August 23, 2019, by Republic Records. As the executive producer, Swift worked with producers Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, and Sounwave on the album. Described by Swift as a "love letter to love", Lovercelebrates the ups and downs of love and incorporates brighter, more cheerful tones, departing from the dark sounds of its predecessor, Reputation (2017). Musically, it is a pop rock, electropop and synth-pop record that contains influences of country, dream pop, bubblegum pop, funk and R&B.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
August 26, 2019. On her seventh album, Taylor Swift is a little wiser and a lot more in love. Though uneven, Lover is a bright, fun album with great emotional honesty.
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The 405
September 8, 2019. What this album represents is an artist that has been immensely popular for a very long time, suddenly lacking the motivation to move the goalposts.
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The Young Folks
The 18 tracks on Lover oftentimes slide together like a lot of beautiful puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together perfectly. . . . her vocals have truly never been better and she is still finding new ways to describe the fairytale ending that she has always written about.
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The Tartan
. . . with this album, she reminds us that beyond her celebrity, her relationships, her beef, her political beliefs, her reputation, she is a brilliant songwriter, and that shines through everything.
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Rolling Stone
Lover is, fittingly, evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But nevertheless it feels like an epiphany: free and unhurried, governed by no one concept or outlook, it represents Swift at her most liberated, enjoying a bit of the freedom she won for her cohort.
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SPIN
Taylor Swift’s Lover Shines in Its Quietest Moments.
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The Guardian
. . . Lover offers plenty of evidence that Swift is just a better songwriter than any of her competitors in the upper echelons of pop, . . . .
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The Quietus
. . . Lover is a fabulous record, full of super-fun standout pop hits that make your heart burst. It oozes with Swift’s much more palatable upbeat sass.
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Consequence of Sound
Taylor Swift Takes the High Road on the More Mature Lover. The volatile pop sensation chooses to focus on love rather than pettiness on her new record.
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NME
. . . she’s returned to the wide-eyed but incisive romantic pop that made her a superstar. At 18 tracks long, ‘Lover’ is more sprawling and further from flawless than her 2014 pop crossover ‘1989’. But it succeeds in spite of its clunkier moments because Swift’s melodies are frequently dazzling and her loved-up lyrics are ultimately quite touching.
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The Muse Jezebel
Taylor Swift's Lover Left Us Charmed But Unmoved.
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TIME
When you take away our collective obsession with her dating history and our minute-to-minute reporting of whatever “feud” she ignited by liking, or not liking, someone’s post on Instagram, we’re left only with Swift, lover, who’s returned to technicolor with an album filled with big-hearted love songs and diary-honest lyrics. She sounds just right.
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Paste Magazine
Throughout the album, Swift essentially lists the things she loves . . . and, let’s face it, love itself. While these are all heartwarming sentiments, they amount to a statement lacking any profound meaning, backed by music that struggles to make a lasting impression.
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PopMatters
Ultimately, Lover is overstuffed and meandering, but serves as a positive reprieve from her past struggles in the public eye, and represents an artist at the peak of her creativity, power, and—one hopes—continued romantic bliss.
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University News
In many ways, Taylor Swift’s seventh studio album, “Lover,” feels like a return to the storytelling and songwriting that initially hooked us on her debut album 13 years ago. At the same time, with “Lover” being the top selling album of 2019, Swift proves she’s just as relevant, enchanting and innovative as ever.
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People
On Lover, Taylor Swift — Self-Assured and Madly in Love — Revels in a Hard-Won Happy Ending.
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NPR
But what makes Lover a good album for Swift's evolution is how much she now chooses to evoke rather than explain. Lyrically, her vivid observational details . . . more often direct to further mystery than resolution, or at least make for a catchy hook.
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The New York Times
The singer and songwriter’s seventh album is a recalibration, playing to her old strengths while hinting at new paths forward.
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The Atlantic
The pop star pushes herself in surprising ways on her new album, to mixed but often moving results.
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POPSUGAR Entertainment
Taylor Swift's Lover Made Us Fall Head Over Heels in Love With Her Music All Over Again
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Vulture
The Old Taylor Is Back on Lover and the Best She’s Been in Years.
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JUNKEE
It’s her seventh studio album, . . . . The run up to the album has been typically topsy turvy: we’ve seen arguably the worst single Swift has ever released in ‘ME!’, and we’ve also received one of the most touching pieces of songwriting of 2019 with ‘The Archer’.
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Mashable
Taylor Swift's 'Lover' is a dreamy and thrilling adventure.
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USA Today
USA TODAY's music critic Maeve McDermott called "Lover" a "less focused and more openhearted" project than anything she’s released since her 2012 album “Red."
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Variety
It's not even a contradiction to say that "Lover" is Swift's most mature album and her most fun one, all at once.
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Independent
"'Lover,' her new, seventh album, feels like a partial resurrection of the Swift of old: moony romance and earnest earworms abound... There is a brilliant album among the 18 songs, if only it had been pruned a little. But Swift has never been one to hold back, and it’s hard to resent her for it. This is the sound of a singer excited to be earnest again."
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Billboard
It is a towering work that’s worth both close analysis on headphones and scream-alongs on stadium speakers. As a reflection of what Taylor Swift loves, Lover is whimsical, moving, imperfect, exhilarating. It’s a detailed snapshot that will endure.
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Forbes
Taylor Swift's 'Lover' Is A Masterful, Heartfelt Pop Spectacle.
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Los Angeles Times
. . . Swift demonstrates a kind of emotional wisdom on “Lover” . . . that feels like the simple, if hard-won, result of nothing but experience.
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UPROXX
After ‘Lover,’ Taylor Swift Should Consider Walking Away From Pop Stardom.
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AV Club
For all of its rich production and lyrical complications, Lover has a simple premise: embrace gratitude and listen to the insights that emerge after a perspective recalibration. As always, Lover is an album Swift made for her fans. But it also feels like a record she made for herself, unburdened by external expectations and her own past.
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Stereogum
. . . more than any Swift album since Red, it’s an album driven by Taylor Swift’s songwriting voice — the angry freakouts and lovestruck reveries and finely observed details that made her such a towering persona in the first place.
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Verily
Awash in pastel colors and accompanied by a PR campaign studded with rainbows, butterflies, and glitter, the album is a pivot from the angsty (and unsuccessful) Reputation—a move out of the darkness into the light, back from the frustrating complications of celebrity drama to the warmhearted and earnest songs we used to expect from Taylor.
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SLATE
Taylor Swift’s Lover Is a More Mature (Mostly) Successor to Red. The new album finds her escaping the celebrity drama and returning to what she does best.
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The FADER
If you didn’t already like Taylor Swift, don’t expect Lover to magically change that. Steffanee Wang Lover is Taylor Swift’s best album since Red — the moment she truly made the move from country star to genuine pop star. Eric Sundermann Repeat listens to Lover aren't helping establish any great shape, nor is anything truly sticking for me.David Renshaw Lover is a sugar rush that plods on just a bit too long. That isn’t to say it’s not enjoyable, or insightful . . . . Salvatore Maicki You can't mistake such personal diarizing from anyone else, and on Lover, that's certainly a good thing.Larry Fitzmaurice
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Vanity Fair
In her best album since Red, Swift makes a case for her own maturity, and music “defined by the things that I love.”
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REFINERY29
With Lover, she taps into something akin to the feelings we get, and frankly need, from fodder like Queer Eye. The world is a particularly harsh place for so many people right now, and a little softness and love is a more than welcome addition. Swift recognizes that, and is re-embracing her role as America’s Sweetheart rather than the queen of the snake emoji. All hail.
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The POST
Truth be told, Taylor Swift’s Lover isn’t going to be enough for a lot of people. . . . She’s shown through this album, however, she’s good enough for herself and willing to show it — and that’s all that really matters. Plus, the album is one of her best, whether people want to admit it or not.
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US Magazine
Taylor Swift Sparkles on ‘Triumphant’ and ‘Deeply Personal’ New Album ‘Lover’.
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Esquire
But when she eases up on the self-mythologizing . . .you remember why you loved her in the first place: she is one of the best songwriters of her generation. . . . unlike on Reputation, the music here is euphoric enough to be enjoyed on its own terms. Leave the Rosetta Stone at home and enjoy it.
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AllMusic
Lover seems fully realized and mature: Swift is embracing all aspects of her personality, from the hopeful dreamer to the coolly controlled craftsman, resulting in a record that's simultaneously familiar and surprising.
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Glamour
It's arguably her most varied work to date—some of the songs are pure pop while others are more soulful and subdued. There's even a glorious return to country. In short, there's something for everyone.
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The Irish Times
A few songs could be shaved off this 18-track album. . . . But this a stronger offering than Reputation, with Swift returning to the place that suits her best: writing personal songs that create an entire world designed for two.
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COSMOPOLITAN
Taylor Swift’s album Lover is not not good. . . . these are 18 songs manufactured by a pop-hits algorithm, and by trying to please everyone, she’s actually pleasing no one.
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bitchmedia
“Lover” Is an Odd Litmus Test for Taylor Swift’s Politics.
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Mother Jones
Imperfect and authentic, “Lover” is an album for a new era of Swift. Lover, as a whole, showcases Swift’s unmatchable talent of using specificity to evoke the familiar emotions that come with searching for love, finding love, and moving on once that love has been lost.
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Chicago Tribune
Taylor Swift’s never-ending ‘Lover’ doesn’t take any chances, but the hits will keep coming.
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Standard
Though twee at times, it’s a much more likeable collection than the defensive Reputation. It ends with the lovely Daylight, perhaps the rarest Taylor Swift composition of all: a love song with a happy ending.
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NEW YORK POST
A sprawling set that’s a bit overlong at 18 songs — with the singles “You Need To Calm Down” and “ME!” strangely sequenced toward the end — it’s a lot to digest.
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her
Overall, this album oozes 1980s' pop, but with a sleek, slightly edgy feel. As she navigates her experiences with relationships, society and fame, Taylor displays the vulnerability and openness that her fans still crave – and she has definitely exceeded their expectations here.
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The Star
. . . the 29-year-old hitmaker dropped a seventh album at midnight on Aug. 23 that plays to the strengths of simpler Taylor times: solid songwriting, lingering wordplay that’s often as clever as it is confessional, and a relatable “every gal” charm that she’s somehow managed to hang onto . . . .
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METRO
A full spectrum of emotions that lives up to her reputation. On Lover, Taylor Swift shakes off a reputation and returns to her old self, just a little bruised around the edges and ready to move on.
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SLANT
At times the album seems unsure of whether it wants to be a callback to 1989 and Red, or forge completely new ground for Swift. Lover lacks a unified sonic aesthetic, ostensibly from trying to be something to everyone—the surest tell that it’s as much reaction as it is creation.
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The Washington Post
The middle of the middle is exactly where Swift’s latest album, “Lover,” stands. It’s as satisfying or as bland a listening experience as you’re inclined to have. Spontaneity and ambiguity remain her mortal enemies, and across 18 tracks, she vanquishes them 18 different ways.
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Spectrum Culture
Lover is a cornucopia worth combing through to find some of Swift’s best, some of her worst and a lot of her most interesting songs.
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411MANIA
Ultimately, “Lover” is frustrating. There is magic to be found in this blending of the older, sweeter Swift with her wilfully ridiculous and riotous self-indulgent pop superstar alter-ego, but the songs never quite come together.
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SUBSTREAM MAGAZINE
With Lover, the defensive bitterness that permeated and oozed from every corner of her last album cycle is gone, replaced with finding love in the small things, the mundane, the things you didn’t even expect to find love in, to begin with. The result is an album full of some of her strongest and blatant declarations to date, and also some of her most enlightening.
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THE FACE
The superstar’s seventh LP is a shimmering ode to long-term romance.
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KidzWorld
Though not her most original album, Taylor delivers more of the pop and country-pop hits we know she crushes for the seventh time around. Surely such a talented artist has more styles of song writing to give, but we can’t fault her for giving us what we love.
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DAILY TITAN
While “Lover” is full of twists and turns, encompassing every emotion on the spectrum, its purity resonates well with long-time fans and new listeners alike.
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The Paw Print
Each song embodies a different aspect of love, and not just the pretty parts. Taylor continuously releases music that is unique, but also unapologetically her. With “Lover,” Swift delivers her most honest album yet.
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GoldenPlec
Beneath the superficial sheen of rainbows and hearts, however, is an album that does leave much of the petty negativity behind in favour of a renewed focus on songwriting, with pure love songs and a pinch of personal politics thrown in for good measure.
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Iowa State Daily
Taylor Swift marries love and and lyrical perfection in “Lover”.
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The Musical Hype
On Lover, arguably, Swift delivers her most well-rounded pop album. Sure, 1989 will likely remain her most important pop effort but overall, what really makes Lover special is how she dips into different styles, the catchy choruses come over as catchier than ever, and honestly, vocally, she sounds well-rounded. The biggest rub about this album is simply the fact that it’s too long. Otherwise, Swift delivers a pretty sweet LP.
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The Pop Break
To sum it up, this album is more of the same with sprinkles of experimentation and a dash of making a statement. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.
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Hotpress
As the last notes of closer ‘Daylight’ ring out, Swift says (not sings….) “I wanna be defined by the things I love / Not the things I hate / Not the things I’m afraid of / Or the things that haunt me in the middle of the night”. These lyrics perfectly capture the spirit of Lover.
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Financial Times
Taylor Swift: Lover — Cupid’s arrow hits the bullseye. The American singer proves once more that she is one of her generation’s definitive pop stars
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Earbuddy
For as much as I like this album and appreciate that it exists, though, this isn’t evolution. This is Swift retracing her steps and going back to a place that’s been focus-tested to work for her.
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No Ripcord
Lover is a plethora of things: a Taylor Swift genre sampler, an argument that Jack Antonoff is her best collaborator, a continuation of her problem with lead singles, and a collection of great synthpop songs, but the best part of it is that Taylor seems like she’s never been better. She’s unburdened by love, and that explosive happiness makes itself present across this record.
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RIFF magazine
Taylor Swift’s seventh album, Lover, exceeds expectations, as she takes a different path through her emotional cycle of valleys of love, heartbreak and moving on. On the 18-track opus, she blends her classic love ballads with more recent forays into electro-pop.
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MELODIC Magazine
After swimming through the vibrant pool that is Lover, we are left knowing that Taylor is in a better place now more than ever. Life can be complicated and frustrating at times, but as long as we hold close the things that bring us light, we are sure to get through anything – and end up with a bold, effervescent album of emotional stories.
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Lee Clarion
The disappointing thing about Lover is that it sounds like something we have heard before. Lover is good, but it is not great. Either way, Swift should be proud of her evolution to the bubblegum pop princess she is.
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Forge Today
The hype for her 7th album, Lover, has been huge and it does not disappoint. Lover is an album which expresses love in all its forms: romantic, self and friendship.
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The Daily Nexus
Overall, the album represents the whirlwind of emotions Swift has felt over the past few years in love, family and society but ends on a note of growth and newfound joy in “Daylight” where she references her old feelings from her album “Red”: “I once believed love was burning red / But it’s golden like daylight.”
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The Northerner
“Lover” is an interim record, beginning a new era of Swift’s music that is much softer and sweeter, and might be exactly what we need in 2019. It may not be her most prominent work, but that doesn’t seem to be the goal of this project. Swift took a break from looking to prove herself, and instead produced an album full of mellow, synth-pop beats dedicated to herself and her fans.
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The Collision
Only a handful of tracks on Lover venture out from the safe haven of love and romance in a half-hearted attempt to explore new topics and themes (and without much success). What was endearing as a naïve and romantic 17-year-old, however, loses much of its glimmer when sung by a 29-year-old. This sets the stage for a largely harrowing and empty album that not even the catchy, bubblegum-pop melodies can rescue.
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Achona
Each song on the album depicts a different part of romance— and it is for that reason that Lover may be Swift’s most mature, potent album yet.
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The SUN
Taylor Swift bares her soul in brutally honest new album Lover – talking marriage, enemies and the fear of losing her mum to cancer.
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The Advocate
The superb new 18-track collection finds Swift looking backward and forward through the lens of love — both present and absent, lustfully and wistfully, friendly and concerned. She calls it a "love letter to love itself."
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A Bit Of Pop Music
With Lover, Taylor Swift delivers another big pop album on which at least half of the songs are potential hits. The album does miss the absolute heights that both 1989 and Reputation reached . . . , but it is easily more consistent and cohesive than the latter.
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Idolator
. . . Taylor achieved exactly what she set out to do with the LP. She celebrated love in its various forms.
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stuff
The album certainly offers a peak of nostalgia for the Swifties who grew up with Swift, and who are now adults. Is Lover back to Swift's country roots? No. Is it all about heartbreak? No, but it does have a bit of sass like Reputation while not being preachy. Lover has something for everyone to enjoy.
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The Sentry
From what it sounds like in her songs, she has finally found that perfectly imperfect love she has always searched for, and she has put those feelings into words for the whole world to sing along. This is one of my favorite albums she has ever released, and I’m thrilled to see what comes next.
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The Reviews Are In
It is more grown-up as she approaches her 30th birthday. It is fun, with songs you can dance to anywhere at any time. And it gets deeply personal, the way Taylor Swift is known to do.
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Salon
"Lover" is billed as "a love letter to itself," but naturally that means it's all about who Swift is, and has been.
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Spinditty
It is easily her most romantic and dreamy album. While it features many sweet ballads and heartfelt numbers, it also includes several empowering anthems.
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mix105.1
All in all, Taylor Swift is the happiest she's ever been and it's evident in every note on this album. She's once again taken pop music to a place it hasn't been in years. She's managed to fall in love with love again and the stark contrast to reputation is proof.
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it's all dead
There is so much to unpack throughout the 18 tracks that one listen can’t possibly be enough to take it all in. What stands out the most about Lover is that it lives and dies by making the listener feel jubilant until the very end.
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Ultimate Guitar
While this album may not appeal to the majority of UGers, there are some decent moments that make it worth checking out, though if you go into it expecting anything more profound or experimental than the average pop album, it's understandable that it may be a disappointing listen. But with its lighter, more atmospheric sound on many tracks, there is actually some quite positive development on this record.
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The Daily Gamecock
The old Taylor Swift is not dead. In spite of her infamous self-proclaimed death sentence in 2017’s “reputation,” Swift has resurrected every romantic bone in her body in her best album yet.
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Clash Magazine
An album that only comes into her own when she is truly herself...
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Thomas Bleach
At it’s core, ‘Lover’ is an over calculated pop record that tries so hard to be relevant that she loses her emotional connection and genuine sincerity within the storylines. At it’s core, it’s an album with true potential that is executed poorly by bubblegum pop production but will be appreciated by her 5-10 year old demographic .
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The Daily Times
All that being said, Swift captures something special here about not just love, but our culture wars. . . . She doesn’t follow a formula, only her heart ... and mood.
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The Pine Log
The whole album is lyrically impressive and has so much potential. Sadly, it sticks to one sound the whole album. There is no variety in the type of songs on the album. There is either synth-pop beats or rugged acoustics. Personally, I wish that Swift had tried and made her songs sound a little bit more diverse, which would have given the album a bit more life.
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Channel 24
Much to my delight, with Lover, Taylor is back to making songs that capture the magic of being infatuated and recklessly tumbling into something more serious. Where Reputation left a bitter taste, Lover has come to sweeten: From Marmite to honey.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
Over the long haul, the album inevitably starts to drag, particularly when we get to “Me!” at track 16, a song that’s been out since April and would be nice to forget about already. But if Lover is a smidgen too much Swift, and its sunny disposition overdetermined, it still qualifies as a quality rebound from Reputation.
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Outright Geekery
Taylor Swift is back with her seventh LP, Lover, and the title says it all. This is a much cheerer, wide-eyed romantic pop that made her a superstar.
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The Harvard Crimson
Despite All the Rainbows, Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ Is Pretty Beige.
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Daily Bruin
Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ constructs a highly relatable, mature narrative of love.
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Daily Caller
Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Lover’ Is Far From Her Best Work, Still Solid
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National Post
She intends the album title to put you in mind of indigo-eyed objects of desire, for sure, but she’s just old and wise enough now to also be thinking of “Lover” as a job description. This album gives us something to love, too: Event Pop where the sharing of emotions on a massive scale is the richest part of the blockbuster occasion.
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odyssey
The entire album is an absolute masterpiece, and I highly suggest you go check it out for yourself.
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Teen-age
The Old Taylor Swift Is Back With Her Most Romantic Album Yet ... This album is very much a celebration of love, in all its complexity, . . . .
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The Arts Desk
Stripped of pop theatrics, “Lover” trades in what Swift does best: hyper-specific details made universal enough for every first dance, . . . .
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Pop Dust
Taylor Swift Soars in “Lover’s” Exploration of Complex Love. Swift finds her state of grace on Lover's more personal, sincere, and quiet tracks.
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Glamour UK
Taylor Swift’s new album is an empowering celebration of love. Confident, catchy and sensitively written.
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black boy bulletin
In short, Lover is a solid record. The album could have been much tighter and concise because the truth is, Lover fails to keep the listener’s attention for the duration of the record. . . . Lover isn’t Taylor’s best, but it does have some great new additions to her stellar discography.
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The Brown Daily Herald
Taylor Swift’s new album ‘Lover’ charms fans. Latest album revokes darker character of ‘reputation,’ speaks to the many facets of love.
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The Courier
“Lover,” with 18 tracks, the most that Swift has ever had on one album, is reminiscent of her older work. This is a good thing. It gives fans a nostalgic feeling. The entire album has a very happy tone about it, to suggest that Swift has finally found “the one.”
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The Shield
Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ full of self-love, growth.
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The Crieghtonian
Overall, this was very on-brand for Swift. There was no new style to any of the music and it honestly felt like a continuation of “Reputation,” her last album. I would recommend this album to those that enjoy pop music . . . .
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Oswegonian
Taylor Swift’s “Lover” Delivers On Pop Anthems, Catchy Love Songs.
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The Poly Post
Everyone’s In Love with Taylor Swift’s “Lover”. Taylor Swift drifts further away from country with her new pop album “Lover.”
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The Scotsman
Taylor Swift’s seventh album nods to all parts of her fanbase with country-tinged and teen-friendly riffs on love.
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The Maine Campus
Overall, with “Lover,” Swift shows the world she has moved on from her “Reputation” phase. The edges are rounded, the colors have seeped back into her music and look, and though we all likely need to accept that the country Taylor Swift we grew up with is gone for good, “Lover” shows us that she still knows how to give us exactly what we need.
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