Taylor Swift is displeased, to put it mildly. She may be one of the most loved (and certainly the biggest) stars in the world but it seems that she is no longer prepared to just shake off the equal amounts of ridicule and criticism that she inspires. reputation is the sound of Swift retreating to her castle and pulling up the drawbridge, identifying her enemies and lashing out. Conversely, though, at the same time it is also the sound of someone rushing out to meet the mainstream and embracing it. An album of opposites, this will undoubtedly be the biggest pop album of the year. But is it the best? Sadly, no – though it could have been with more quality control.

‘…Ready For It?’ opens proceedings with a catchy-as-hell chorus about her current beau Joe Alwyn, alongside a bass drop that will sound amazing in the inevitable arena tours to follow. Listen to it twice and the chorus will burn itself into your subconscious. However, the following collaboration with Ed Sheeran and Future, ‘End Game’, is as edgy as a plastic beach ball and deserves nothing more than a quick and painless death. ‘I Did Something Bad’ though, is an interesting track and is a starting point for many of the themes that Taylor wants to shout about so very publicly on reputation.

Boasting of her ability to play the narcissists and playboys at their own game, (“They never see it coming, what I do next/This is how the world works, you gotta leave before you get left”), Taylor only succeeds in making herself appear to be unpleasantly leading men along before crushing them underfoot. Perhaps it is meant to be a character, or simply playing the playboys at their own game, regardless it is an odd trait to be proud of. ‘Don’t Blame Me’ asks us to forgive her for “Toying with them older guys, just playthings for me to use” – but hey, it’s not her fault as “love made me crazy”. And so on, into ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ which doesn’t now sound quite as jarring or out of place as it did on first listen.

In hindsight, it is the perfect introduction to the reputation persona with its bitter attack on Kanye West (more on him later). It is the song that shows that Taylor Swift is the perfect pop star for these times of Trump and Weinstein. Self-obsessed, bloated on pride and not responsible for her own actions – look what you made me do indeed. There is another assault on Kanye and Kim in ‘This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things’: “Friends don’t try to trick you, get you on the phone and mind-twist you/And so I took an axe to a mended fence”. It is a feud that is only of interest to the individuals involved (and gossip magazines), but the opportunity isn’t missed here to dredge it back up again.

Stylistically, you can hear the influences of people like Lorde being soaked in, as well as perhaps the ultimate pop role model, Madonna, in ‘Getaway Car’ – the closest track to the 1989 atmosphere. Even (whisper it), Katy Perry seems to be an influence on the synthpop ‘King Of My Heart’. In a second half where the quality tapers off alarmingly, the majority of tracks here seem over-produced and the album itself is overlong with perhaps three or four songs too many. There is a final return to form with the closing track ‘New Year’s Day’ which is the most like the Taylor Swift of old, but overall the tone remains spiteful and too ‘me, me, me’.

reputation is an odd beast. Guaranteed to sell a billion copies, released by a pop star completely impervious to critical reaction. It contains some of the best pop singles this (or any other) year has seen, but at times presents such an unlikeable facade that the casual listener can be left a little cold. Perhaps Taylor and Kanye have more in common than they think…

Website – taylorswift.com
Twitter – twitter.com/taylorswift13
Facebook – facebook.com/TaylorSwift