This is a bit of a surprise for us to review this. I mean we are often here (but by no means exclusively, we have had some big names through our doors in recent years too!) for the smaller independent artists, artists for whom the reviews mean a lot for their growth and marketing. The world is not full of the huge selling artists, it is largely incorporating the hard working small artists who have second and third jobs but spend their spare time in tiny vans in the grimy clubs and pubs trying to find their way forward. At the other end of the scale are the mega-artists who stride the globe. And, although there is room at the very top of the mountain for more than one, Taylor Swift is most definitely right at the top.Her sales, influence and global reach right now are almost unparallelled (although her recent open endorsement of Kamala Harris for president shows there are limits to that influence) and the interesting thing is how reviews of her music have shifted.
I was pulled into doing this review partly due to the influence of teenagers around me and partly reading reviews for the new album that absolutely irritated me. The Spectator barely mentioned her music or the album, it was interested only in debating her as a feminist icon and making wider statements about her getting married or seeking a domesticity that her music may previously have challenged. It actually annoyed me when the review began to cite her previous loves and breakups as “creative muses” or “performing victimhood with precision” (the review I will link here). I really didn’t like those sorts of comments, which I then found to be all over the internet in different forms, a common theme in the reviews generally. Yet, drawing on personal pain and unhappiness is exactly what makes for great songs and poetry – you draw on your experiences. In Tudor England the poet Thomas Wyatt wrote his best poetry on his unrequited desire for Anne Boleyn – The Beatles “Norwegian Wood” was John Lennon recounting an affair he had had; and when we spoke to Olivia Lynn recently about her song “Red” she said to us “It becomes easier to draw on anger and sadness when you have had something horrible happen to you. You can take it as a blessing or a curse….. (with) “I Saw Red.” I was so angry at the time when I wrote that song, and I didn’t give a fuck….” That is it exactly, the question that drew me to review this album was whether happiness is just as good a motivator for song writing as anger and disillusionment. “There’s no bite in ballads about contentment” said John MacGhlionn in the Spectator article – really? What about “Here Comes the Sun” by that little band The Beatles!
Thus, I approach the review and am going to listen to my first ever Taylor Swift album from start to finish! I am not coming to the album as a fan, although I have (of course) knowledge of her main tracks over the years. I am not including the press kit as for this album we were never approached officially to review it and so received no press kit!
But here it is, a review that actually listens to the music!
“Life of a Showgirl” runs to 12 songs and lasts just under 42 minutes.
“The fate of Ophelia” who ‘lived in fantasy’ was (of course) the unfortunate lover of Hamlet. What we have here is a pop easy on the ears number. It’s interesting taking a very sad character from literature, but adding that positive vibe of rescue when the right person enters life to take you out of that metaphorical grave. The fate of Ophelia to suicide herself when love is over is escaped.
“Elizabeth Taylor” was a great beauty of modern film and romance, an interesting choice for a song. The lyrics contemplate the lonely aspect of fame and glamour, the fate of Elizabeth Taylor, and (possibly in the past) for Swift too. I was told this was an album celebrating happiness, I don’t altogether agree, there is a worldly tone to this song.
“Opalite” is the most instantly commercial track so far, the chorus bounces through the headphones and sees life as a song ending when it ends, time to leave those ghosts behind and celebrate the life that you have found. It’s a very well constructed pop song, the type of track that you would listen to on a drive turned up loud and singing along to. A strong, entertaining track.
“Father Figure” was a song title from the much missed George Michael. This one keeps a drum beat as a heartbeat to a slower track that plays with a light vocal harmony while deals with the devil are being done in the back room. I found this track came and went a bit.
“Eldest Daughter” is a piano ballad that laments the dangerous terrain of social media comments and lies. It is also a love song to the one who is there by your side. Swift tells us that when she said she didn’t believe in marriage that was a lie, that’s okay! We can believe different things in life at different times, and it is a ballad that acknowledges we can say things that are just dumb sometimes – we all do. Too much analysis of a line by too many reviewers, it is a relaxing ballad that does what it does just fine.
“Ruin the Friendship” was a song that kind of slipped along in the album, not one I will really remember after it closes. It was a gentle pop number that would happily play on daytime radio, recalling school days and those little awkward moments.
“Actually Romantic” has a bit more acid poured in, as the “boring Barbi” quote is pushed back to the sender. The chorus is a very good one, the beat of the track works and this is certainly one that I both like and would like to hear again.
“Wi$h Li$t” is one where Swift hits the high notes and I listened to a gentle pop number about just wanting that one person. It fits into the album fine without cutting itself a lane of its own.
“Wood” I liked as it blended a bit of funk into the sound. The pop sound layered on top is effective as well, it’s a well crafted song about the “knock on wood” theme. You could dance away to this one!
“CANCELLED” moves to Shakespeare again, a bit of Macbeth this time (“something wicked this way comes”) – interesting how on a “happy” album Shakespearean tragedies are a running theme. If you like your whiskey sour and your friends with matching scarves – then you will like this track. Friends are the ones who believe in your innocence, and it’s good to learn the art of not getting caught. I would say this was up there with my favourites in this album, it was a very interesting track lyrically and not at all what I was expecting having read some of those other reviews.
“Honey” is a decent late album track. It has some interesting little vocal moments, and it has a story to move along to. But it lacks the impact of the best tracks.
“Life of a Showgirl” (with Sabrina Carpenter) – is another strong track, ending the album really well, bookending the songs with a solid beat and a sad smile.
Standout Tracks: “CANCELLED,” “Actually Romantic” and “Opalite”
What “Life of a Showgirl” ultimately proves is that Taylor Swift still knows how to surprise, even when the world believes it already knows her every move. Beneath the sheen of pop precision, this is an album that reveals a self-aware artist exploring what it means to find peace after chaos, and creativity after heartbreak. It’s not revolutionary, but it doesn’t need to be—it’s confident, clever, and layered with the kind of craft that comes only from experience. For all the noise that surrounds her, Swift still delivers where it matters most: in the music.
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By Anna-Louise Burgess