She did it again, folks. Merely one day after Taylor Swift released her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” it topped the charts and became the second-largest week of album sales. In just a day.
And more to the point, merely one day after I first listened to “The Life of a Showgirl,” it is thoroughly ingrained in my head and added to my playlists.
Album Review: “The Life of a Showgirl” – Taylor Swift
That’s not to say the album is without faults and shortcomings, but flawless diamonds are rare, and the slightly imperfect ones still sparkle too. This album feels like a sparkly showgirl, with a theatrical and over-the-top veneer, but true to the name, it’s a peek behind the curtains to expose the feelings and pressures.
Somewhere between autobiographical and a concept album of a showgirl character, Taylor Swift’s 12th album lives in the same world as “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.” In fact, the track some thought was out of place on “The Tortured Poets Department” (TTPD) could fit right in here, if it wasn’t for the fact that her heart is no longer broken. Rather, she is happier, stronger and more confident than ever before, and that glow is carried throughout the album.
The confidence is infectious and enrapturing, and it hits you right from the beginning with “The Fate of Ophelia.” Swiftie Nation has a new pledge and “I pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes.” It is an instant banger, and it’s not the only one on the album; I was “Oh oh oh oh”ing along with “Opalite” from the first listen. I literally went back and re-started “Wood” after the opening notes and then again after it ended.
Of course, as with any Taylor Swift album, “The Life of a Showgirl” has some tracks that are growers, not showers. In my opinion, the titular track was one of those, as I ended the first listen wishing for something “more.” Upon more listens, I grew to appreciate that it is not meant to live in the same world of pop anthems as some other tracks. Sonically, it lives in a musical theater world. It’s a fitting way to tell the story of a fictional showgirl, Kitty, and the less-than-glamorous life behind the curtain. It’s also fittingly sung by showgirls Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, both of whom were in the middle of their massive world tours during recording. Despite the title, not all of the tracks are the biggest and flashiest, as many hoped, but they sparkle and shimmer nonetheless.
A Glitter Gel Pen Album
Not every album is for everyone, and this isn’t an exception. To paraphrase from “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” if you’re into the Alanis Morissette-y alternative, dark, like brooding, I-never-go-out-into-the-sunshine-and-my-life’s-a-miserable-black-hole-of-depression kinda thing,” this album is not for you. “But I mean for a like driving-around-in-the-car-with-the-top-down-putting-on-your-lip-gloss-loving-life kinda thing, [it’s] good!”
This is far from Taylor Swift’s first pop album. In fact, she’s put out far more pop albums than she has broody ones, but following on the heels of “The Tortured Poets Department,” it seemed many fans wanted more of that. But even as a pop album, I think the critics who knock the lyricism, or lack thereof, as they argue, are simply not listening to it in the context that it deserves.
Swift has talked about her songwriting approach as using three different metaphorical pens for different types of lyrics. The quill pen lyrics and songs are poetic and deep, the fountain pen is for raw, confessional writing and the glitter gel pen is fun, sparkly and playful. And while she will always mix around her pens throughout songs and albums, “The Life of a Showgirl” is largely written in an orange glitter gel pen. (Not coincidentally, the album’s shade of orange is the exact midpoint between Chiefs red and gold.)
It comes through in the sweet lines of “Honey” and the hilariously petty ones of “Almost Romantic.” It’s the shimmery hope of “Opalite” and the big-dick energy of “Father Figure.” And yes, if you pull a random lyric from the album, it is more likely to be a dick joke than English-teacher-approved prose.
But that’s not to say that it’s without references. “The Fate of Ophelia” is one of the most obvious ones, showing that she can still twist a Shakespeare ending just as well as she did in “Love Story.” While it doesn’t have the overly academic feel that was found more on TTPD, people criticized that, too. There’s just no pleasing all the Swities!
The Flaws in the Diamond
That said, I do have some criticism. I am a Swiftie, after all.
There are times when the lyrics feel like they’ve gone too far, even for glitter gel pen songs, and it’s like she’s singing in memes. That is most exemplified on “Eldest Daughter,” which is one of the only skips in my opinion. Maybe it’s because I’m the younger sibling…
There are also moments when I feel the music is somewhat at odds with the lyrics or vibe of the song. Some of that is the inkling that certain songs could have gone harder, particularly “CANCELLED!” I think “Elizabeth Taylor” would have benefited from building the chorus drop around the piano and strings of the opening, adding in live drums to create something sweeping, orchestral and dramatic. Instead, it gets synthy in a knockoff Lana Del Rey way.
Of course, no pop album criticism is complete without some “it sounds like [insert name here]” comments. Some of that is more abstract, with an unplaceable familiar feel or similar-sounding cadences, and some of that is super direct.
Pause here and listen to an audio overlaying the title track of “The Life of a Showgirl” with “Cool” by the Jonas Brothers. What’s really interesting is that Shellback, one of the two producers Taylor Swift worked with on this album, alongside Max Martin, actually worked with the Jonas Brothers for other songs on their “Happiness Begins” album. But I digress, and frankly, that’s pop music, baby! There are only so many notes in the scale.
A Shimmering Peek Behind the Curtain
Overall, “The Life of a Showgirl” has quickly become one of my favorites. In fact, a quick sorting quiz just put it as my No. 1, although I’m sure there’s some recency bias involved.
It immediately drew me in from the first notes and kept me hooked until the end, and I can’t remember the last time a Taylor Swift album did that on first listen. Some of that may be the length, which is a fitting 12 tracks for her 12th studio album. Still, they feel like they work together to tell a cohesive story that keeps a similar energy throughout. It bounces between the conceptual, fictional showgirl world and her personal life in a myriad of ways that I’m sure Swifties can and will pick apart, but in many ways seem imperceptible. She is the showgirl, and this is her show.
If you haven’t listened yet, it’s well worth the 42 minutes, although maybe block out an hour and a half or three just in case. If you’re anything like me, you might get sucked behind the curtain and into “The Life of a Showgirl”!
Thanks for reading my review of “The Life of a Showgirl!” If you like my kind of trash, you can read more here and follow me on Twitter @trashsandwiches. You can also watch me on our entertainment betting show, “Popcorn & Root Beer,” on our YouTube channel!
