Taylor Swift: Midnights

Midnights is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released in 2022, Midnights is a moody concept album inspired by Swift's "sleepless nights". As such Midnights explores topics of anxiety, insecurity, self-criticism, self-awareness, insomnia, and self-confidence, sometimes incorporating confessional yet cryptic lyrics. Sonically, the album is impressive, experimenting with electropop styles, while also incorporating a mellow alternative sound. The songs are characterized by subtle grooves, vintage synthesizers, drum machine, and hip hop/R&B rhythms.

The album received critical acclaim for its restrained production, candid songwriting and vocal cadences. In the United States, it opened with over 1.57 million units, logged Swift's 11th number-one on the Billboard 200, the largest vinyl sales week of the 21st century, and became the best-selling album of 2022.
The album has also spawned 10 top-ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the most for any album in the same week.

Pressed at Sterling Engineering and mixed at MixStar Studios, this marbled lavender vinyl version was exclusive to target. Sonically, the album performs well. However, from a production standpoint, it is not manufactured as well as one would expect. Maybe it is because of the mass demand and subsequent production that was anticipated with the release of the record. The vinyl came warped out of the package, which appears to be a common occurrence with this record. The mastering is below average. I have to turn up the volume beyond what is typical to reach a reasonable playback level. The sound quality is not the best, as there is significant surface noise, especially between tracks.

TRACK LIST
1. Lavender Haze
2. Maroon
3. Anti-Hero
4. Snow On The Beach
5. You're On Your Own, Kid
6. Midnight Rain
7. Question...?
8. Vigilante Shit
9. Bejeweled
10. Labyrinth
11. Karma
12. Sweet Nothing
13. Mastermind

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this version of Midnights 💸.

However, I would definitely recommend the album in general 💰. The lyrics are great, the music is excellent, and the performance is Taylor at her singing and song writing best. This album rivals Folklore, which I think is excellent all around!

💰 Invest
💵 Consider
💸 Pass