Taylor Swift: Lover (2LP) [REPUBLIC]

Why you'll love it

Lover went to No. 1 in the US, Canada and the UK, and "Cruel Summer" became a No. 1 hit four years after it first came out. "The Man," "You Need to Calm Down" and the title track are among her best.

This edition

• 2LP set, 18 tracks
• Republic pressing
• Gatefold sleeve

About the album

With 2017's gilded Reputation, Taylor Swift knowingly established herself as a capital-P pop superstar. On Lover, she took a step back and reminded us that there was a truly gifted artist at work amidst the growing media circus.

Lover is still a brightly hued pop record, of course, but this "love letter to love" is less concerned with grand, self-aware gestures and flexing Swift's stadium muscle than its predecessor. Recorded in the throes of a fresh romantic relationship, it's unapologetically sappy at times (see the magnificent, Mazzy Star-esque title track), a little bit goofy on more theatrical numbers like "I Forgot That You Existed" and "You Need to Calm Down" and almost relentlessly upbeat. It's also one of Swift's more diverse musical offerings, however, and when she swings her focus away from lovestruck swooning to not-so-mild social commentary on "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince" and the memorably feminist "The Man" it's actually pretty stinging. There's real depth here. It might be controversial to say this but (gasp!) Lover might be one of Taylor Swift's very finest albums.

Also at Kops: more Taylor Swift on vinyl · browse Pop

Tracklist

Listen

On Republic, first out in 2019.