A masterpiece made by a true mastermind, each track bejeweled with meaningful lyrics and the perfect album that we all needed. “Midnights” is a whimsical journey through Taylor Swift’s biggest fears, dreams, nightmares and deepest thoughts.

The 13-track album dropped Friday, Oct. 21 at midnight and hit the top of the charts swiftly and is breaking many records. 

Her tenth album comes two years after her previous releases “Folklore” and “Evermore” came out in 2020. And in my opinion, this album was the perfect record to release after those albums. 

“Midnights” is full of quick-tempoed beats (unlike the last two albums), flowy and harmonious vocals and cryptic lyrics. Her songwriting has a reputation for being full of hidden messages and acting like Swift’s personal diary. 

Songs like “Lavender Haze,” “Bejeweled” and “Mastermind” are upbeat tracks that make me want to skip down the street and shout the lyrics through campus. We all know that Swift loves her revenge, and tracks “Karma” and “Vigilante Shit” show it well. “Maroon,” “Snow on The Beach,” “Question…?,” “Midnight Rain,” “Labyrinth” and “Sweet Nothing” are slow but fulfilling songs that captivate you and pull you into the feeling. The songs that fans are relating to the most are “Anti-Hero” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” because they touch on Swift’s own biggest fears and struggles that most of us can resonate with. 

My favorite thing about Swift is that her mind seems to be so complex and works in ways that I cannot comprehend. The thought she puts into an album, the hidden easter-egg hints, the movie-like produced music videos, the full show productions of her tours and the era-like concepts. Not to mention, her songwriting never fails. It is always full of brutally honest, beautifully complicated and resonant lyrics. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album before I listened to it, but I can say that it exceeded my expectations far beyond any other album of hers. I usually have a song or two that I skip on Swift’s albums, but “Midnights” is the first one that I can genuinely say is a “no-skip album”.