The Reputation era was a weird time for Taylor Swift. Following the success of her album 1989, the superstar’s career was soaring to incredible heights, while simultaneously reaching the point of over-exposure that every celebrity dreads. Between public feuds with Kanye West and Katy Perry, and short-lived romances with Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston, the tabloids were eating Swift alive. She withdrew from social media and committed to keeping her personal affairs on the down-low.
It was in this time period that Reputation was born, and much like every other move that Taylor made, it was heavily scrutinized. Critics argued that it was too long, too loud, too self-referential. As it stands, Reputation is Swift’s lowest ranked album on Metacritic, with an overall score of 71. But I have a confession to make. This album is hands down my favorite Taylor Swift album of all time. Here are some of the reasons why.
- BAD GYAL TAY TAY:
Reputation was arguably the most dramatic sound evolution in Taylor Swift’s career. It almost felt like the album was written by a completely different person… an evil twin, perhaps? Taylor played up the bad girl image throughout the entire Reputation campaign, taking the narrative that the tabloids had created for her and spinning it into a total caricature. She traded in her usual Jackie Kennedy fashion sense for a street-wear inspired wardrobe. She wiped her Instagram and repopulated it with dark, moody images, and aggressive fonts. She even swiped the snake emoji right out of Kim and Kanye’s playbook and incorporated it into every aspect of her art. It was juicy, to say the very least, but it was also incredibly necessary for the success of the album. The old Taylor- the well-behaved, people-pleasing Taylor- would not have been able to pull off Reputation as an album. It wouldn’t have been believable. The production palette was too coarse. The lyrics were too bitey. The vocal lines were too rhythmic, too rap-like. Old Taylor could never. But Bad Taylor? She owned it.
2. THE LIVE SHOW:
A huge part of what sold me on this album was seeing it performed live on the Reputation tour. I’m almost positive that this album was made with the performance already in mind. I vividly remember sitting in the nosebleed section and feeling the heat on my face from the pyrotechnics that went off during “I Did Something Bad” and “Ready For It?” “King of my Heart” was performed with a massive army of taiko drummers on stage. The visual treatment of each song was perfectly coordinated to enhance those high-impact production moments, and the result was spell-binding. Anyone who felt underwhelmed by Reputation needs only to watch a live recording of this tour, and I guarantee your appreciation will increase tenfold.
3. MAX MARTIN:
Reputation has some of my favorite Max Martin production moments. I love the grimey, saw-wave synths on “I Did Something Bad” and the weird vocal sampling in the post-chorus. (Fun fact: Those sounds came to Taylor in a dream and, like the sorcerer he is, Max Martin transformed it into the other-worldly sample heard on the album.) And what about the bubbly, arpeggiated synths and the cheeky, little triangle sound in “Gorgeous?” It’s just so good. I could write an entire novel on all the clever production elements that are hidden throughout this album, but suffice it to say, it is masterfully produced. I truly believe that if you removed Taylor’s vocals, the instrumentals could still stand on their own. That, to me, is the mark of a good producer.
4. VOCAL EXPLORATION:
Taylor really pushes her voice on this album, and it made me appreciate how much of a vocalist she really is. Sure, she is no Ariana, but Swift has a unique range of vocal colors and styles that any singing technician can appreciate. I remember being alone in my car, screaming with excitement when I first heard the rap-singing on “Ready For It.” I never anticipated how great her delivery would be. (Can you blame me when videos like this exist in the world?) I’m also grateful that nobody was within earshot of me when I got to the end of “Don’t Blame Me” for the first time, because I absolutely lost my shit. Check out the video below for the exact moment where Taylor’s vocals caused me to ascend into heaven.
5. AMAZING LYRICS:
I will be the first to admit there are some lyrical stinkers on this album. (“Look What You Made Me Do,” I’m looking at you.) But there are overwhelmingly more instances of the poetic and thoughtful writing that Taylor Swift is revered for. She is a master at using seemingly mundane details to paint the most romantic pictures. One of my favorite examples is on the album closer “New Years Day”: “There’s glitter on the floor after the party / Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby / Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor / You and me from the night before.” It instantly evokes that oddly-specific feeling of gratitude you get when you ring in the New Year with the people you love. Reputation is brimming with this kind of lyricism, and if you can look past some of the more cringey and self-referential moments on the album, you might just find some of Taylor Swift’s best work.
6. PERFECT POP MELODIES:
Another thing that our girl Tay Tay is sickeningly good at is writing pop melodies. This album has so many earworms, from the pre-chorus on “Ready For It” to the playful melody of “Getaway Car.” Even some of the more conversational parts of Reputation feel incredibly good to sing along to. Though Taylor tends to use a super-small range of pitches in her verses, she keeps it interesting through rhythm. “Gorgeous” is a great example of this. Most of the verse is spent on a single pitch, but the way the words roll off the tongue is a hook in its own right. Then, when the chorus arrives, we get that incredible, sky-high melody that perfectly contrasts the minimalist treatment of the verses. It’s a master class in songwriting that everyone should sit in on.
I could probably go on forever, but this seems like as good a stopping point as any. I hope this gave you at least a few ways to appreciate this super underrated Taylor Swift album. Let me know what you think of Reputation in the comments below!
Pop Apologist 