Taylor Swift dropped her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Oct. 3. Swift recorded this album in Sweden throughout the Eras Tour. Many songs focus on her romantic relationship with fiancé Travis Kelce. Other songs explore her career as a “showgirl,” addressing the complexities of life in the public eye.

Swift’s new album was highly anticipated, but unfortunately, it’s more of a letdown than a success. The album is very theatrical, almost to the point where the lyrics feel staged. While many of the songs are upbeat and fun, some of the songs cross a line and start to become annoying to listen to. For instance, in songs like “Wood,” Swift’s voice feels drowned out by instruments and background noise. 

Overall, I liked that this album was vibrant and full of energy, compared to her last album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” One of the best songs was “The Fate of Ophelia.” The song centers around Swift being “saved” by her relationship with Kelce, using Ophelia’s horrific death in Hamlet as a metaphor. The song is a good start to the album. It is upbeat, dramatic, and poetic. “The Fate of Ophelia” did a good job of hooking me in and making me listen to the rest of the album.

However, things went downhill after the first couple of songs. Throughout the album, I felt lost at times because it lacked a clear emotional focus or direction. The worst song was “Father Figure.” For a heavy, emotional topic, there was not enough raw emotion in Swift’s voice. It was also not enjoyable to listen to and lacked the “catchiness” of some of her better songs. 

Also, many of the lyrics in some of the songs within the album were weird and felt forced at times. For instance, in “Cancelled!”, the lyric “I girl bossed too close to the sun” is cringy. These types of lyrics don’t engage me. They lack the emotional depth that makes some of Swift’s previous songs so good. 

Overall, while some songs are catchy and fun, this album is just bland. It lacks the emotional lyrics that fans know Swift can write, and at times, the songs feel too forced and aggressive. Taylor tried to put on a show, and it failed. I won’t be adding the songs in Swift’s “Life of a Showgirl” album to my playlist. 

⅖ paws