‘The Encore’ may follow on as the deluxe edition of twelfth studio album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, but it struggles to succeed, let alone sustain even the sub-par quality of the initial twelve tracks.
Upon the announcement of ‘The Encore’s’ lead promo single, , visual aesthetics of the single-art stood out like a sore-thumb against the sparkling, and odiously orange, backdrop of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’, sparking speculation surrounding a new era from, undoubtedly, the most defining artist of the last two decades. News that ‘Patient Zero’, along with three other tracks, would instead make up the instalment for a deluxe version of Swift’s most critically-panned, and consciously commercial, album to date, seemed strange to say the least.
Was she going to double down and insist upon her newly found manufactured sound, something she successfully disregarded on her recent standalone, stripped-back, country single recorded for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’, which certainly stands out as her most delightfully exceptional recent-release, paying homage to her signature songwriting style, Western musical roots and reminding us of her artistic brilliance… Or was this set out to be Swift’s redemption arc, making up for misses on songs like ‘CANCELLED!’ and ‘Eldest Daughter’, which proved tuneless, both in their timing, and in their resonance with listeners, and many fans-alike, tactfully acknowledging the album’s triumphs on tracks like ‘Father Figure’ and ‘Ruin The Friendship’ and seeking to stay true to her signature, storytelling songwriting style., a craft she masters far more meticulously than most of her peers
The Encore’ was an opportunity to re-define ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ as a body of work to boast more merits, than missed marks – a perfect prophecy, remaining tragically unfulfilled.
‘Patient Zero’, proposed a promising introduction, entering on rhythmic fiddle, reminiscent of a wistful Irish-folk tune, but as the vocals kick in, Swift appears to be struggling to settle on a melody. The result? A steady rhyme-scheme throughout the verses, and a digestible chorus that bursts into a bridge bloated by its long-winded and verbose lyrics. By this stage the rhythmic qualities of the song become almost as confusing as Max Martin and Shellback’s decision to implement a trap-beat over the instrumental, consisting of violin strings… it’s experimental I guess?
Sometimes it becomes unclear whether Swift is struggling to keep up with the beat, as what could be perhaps best described as a musical-millennial-pause seems to fragment the track’s flow, sometimes it’s as if she’s participating in a karaoke set where there’s a slight, but noticeable, delay between the screen and the soundtrack. ‘Patient Zero’ is fine at surface level but there’s a general malaise that it’s at odds with concealing, it’s far from Swift’s strongest single but it also stands out amongst a lot of the other ‘Showgirl’ songs. Here’s to hoping ‘Patient Zero’s’ cinematic music video, employing the appearances of Dakota Johnson and Collin Farrell, can prove the song’s saving grace.
‘Cleveland!’ follows suit on the track list, arriving with hopeful piano chords before welcoming a jingle of merry bells… no it’s not a Christmas song, but there’s sonically a festive element to it’s production. There’s a theatrical quality to Swift’s vocals, any Swiftie can only imagine her melodramatic facial expressions whilst reeling off the lyrics in the recording booth.
“Stumbling clumsily?
Would you even call that dancing?
I can see what you mean”
Whilst Swift’s strained attempts at satire collapsed on ‘Eldest Daughter’, ‘Cleveland!’ seems to carry this quality more clearly with it’s references to nitpicking criticism Swift faced for her dancing on her prolific Eras Tour. However, all sense of irony dissipates the moment the chorus kicks in.
He already took me to Cleveland
And showed me The Heights, so hate all you like
This is the love of my life, hey, hey, hey
Between name-dropping her husband, Travis Kelce’s, podcast, New Heights, in previous ‘Showgirl’ track ‘Wood’, which is everything you’d imagine it to be.
‘Cleveland!’ also takes an ad-break for the very podcast which is accountable for ‘The Life of a Showgirl’s’ initial announcement, before Swift goes on to declare her undying love for Kelce in what is, monumentally, her least poetic profession of affection, ever in her songwriting career.
This is far from Swift’s first us-against-the-world-type songwriting storyline, ‘Love Story’ propelled her to untouchable levels of acclaim following the same notion, as she dared to re-write the fate of Shakepeare’s star-crossed lovers, as a teenage country starlet. ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ offered a defiant middle finger to fans, attempting to re-direct her desires, riding inexplicable highs of atmospheric production. In fact, Forbidden love is a theme so prominent in Swift’s songwriting that it even inspired half the concept of the beloved ‘Reputation’ album.
For someone so well rehearsed in expressing this theme, in a precisely remarkable yet ever-dynamic manner, ‘Cleveland!’s’ un-interesting, on-the-nose lyricism seems to imply Swift has hit a conceptual void.
As for the track’s almost-audacious production and inconsistent instrumentals, which somehow also sounds eerily similar to the disconcerting hold music for any, hard-to-get-hold-of, public service, once you remove the vocals – it begs the question whether the song’s true irony lies in love not only blind, but deaf?
‘Pink Clouding’ takes form as a synth-pop song you’d expect to hear blasting in Topshop about a decade ago, nostalgic in it’s sound, with over-produced, high-pitched ad-libs, reminiscent of 2016: the year of excessive synths and overused snare drum.
The songwriting unravels to see Swift reflecting on a relationship where she suggests she didn’t treat someone as well as she maybe should’ve. How this fits into ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ theme, which up until ‘The Encore’ seemed to exclusively focus on recent instances in Swift’s career and personal life, I don’t know but it does appear she’s having to get a little creative with her current muses, at the moment.
One of the greatest things Taylor Swift is forcefully dominant in is the art of assembling a catchy, interesting bridge. ‘Pink Clouding’ testifies she’s not lost the knack, as she spits out the lyrics, rapidly, in a vigorous tongue twister that takes shape to be the catchiest ear-worm amongst the four new tracks.
Last but certainly not least, we round out ‘The Encore’ with ‘Babylon’, by far the most authentic track from ‘The Encore’ and a track that genuinely enhances the album’s overall quality.
In terms of the songwriting the exact circumstances of the evidently reflective storyline remain ambiguous and vague enough for the listener to tie their own thoughts and experiences to the descriptions of yearning for something that once was, whilst refraining from losing the finer details and intricacies that uphold the song’s personal and vulnerable qualities.
It’s text-book Taylor Swift, from her signature songwriting-style that suits her means of relating to her listeners, to her carefully sung harmonies, which narrate her lyrics with reliability, and the track’s less-is-more production amongst instrumentals driven by acoustic guitar. It’s reminiscent of, folk-alternative album, ‘evermore’s’, ‘Long Story Short’, with its upbeat self-resolving plot, as well as a reminder that a collaborator like Aaron Dessner would’ve likely had more to offer on a song of this style.
‘Babylon’ seems to restore some hope that Swift will find her way artistically, once again, return with regard for her roots and regain her more lucid approach to art, the kind of courageous mindset that gave us the songs and albums that have gone on to shape her legacy, back when she dared to exist outside the binaries of cheap shock factors and without dire desperation for radio play.
4/10