--- title: Taylor Swift 1989 Album Review: Swift Goes Full-Throttle Pop description: On her new album, Taylor Swift goes full-throttle pop canonical: https://time.com/3533569/taylor-swift-1989-review/ author: Sam Lansky article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-23T10:19:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:18.628Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Taylor Swift 1989 Album Review: Swift Goes Full-Throttle Pop og:description: On her new album, Taylor Swift goes full-throttle pop og:url: https://time.com/3533569/taylor-swift-1989-review/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1293674d9d51a778/6987624e2dce011a599db1a5/taylorswift.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Taylor Swift og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Taylor Swift 1989 Album Review: Swift Goes Full-Throttle Pop twitter:description: On her new album, Taylor Swift goes full-throttle pop twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1293674d9d51a778/6987624e2dce011a599db1a5/taylorswift.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Review: _1989_ Marks a Paradigm Swift > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Sam Lansky](https://time.com/author/sam-lansky/)  ## Sam Lansky Oct 23, 2014 10:19 AM UTC  LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 19: Singer Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage) LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 19: Singer Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage (Photo by Denise Truscello/WireImage)Denise Truscello—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Sam Lansky](https://time.com/author/sam-lansky/)  ## Sam Lansky Oct 23, 2014 10:19 AM UTC “Took our broken hearts and put them in a drawer,” Taylor Swift sings on “Welcome to New York,” the opening track on her fifth and sharpest album, _1989_. Coming from Swift, a superstar who built a global empire penning hits about matters of the heart, this sounds like a threat–stowing her sorrow away after it brought so much success seems borderline irresponsible. But Swift has gambled before and won. After writing every song solo on her blockbuster 2010 country-crossover album, _Speak Now_, she teamed up with a varied roster of top-shelf tunesmiths for 2012’s sprawling, genre-spanning opus, _Red_. That album went quadruple platinum, earned rapt critical acclaim and four Grammy nods and made her an icon. On _1989_, out Oct. 27, she sounds like one. Leaner and keener than those on _Red_, her new songs fizz and crackle with electricity and self-aware wit. Driven by synths and drums in lieu of guitars, all trace of country abandoned, 1989 holds together sonically as a tribute to the electro-pop that dominated radio 25 years ago. Swift executive-produced the album alongside Swedish hit machine Max Martin, who lends pop shellack to her nimble lyrics. Winding choruses have been whittled down to their stickiest essence. Thematically, too, Swift breaks with the past, skirting victimhood and takedowns of maddening exes, critics and romantic competitors. Instead, there’s a newfound levity. Not only is Swift in on the joke; she also relishes it. The bouncy “Blank Space” hyperbolizes her portrayal in the media as an overly attached man-eater who dates for songwriting material: “Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane/ But I’ve got a blank space,” she coos before, incredibly, a clicking sound like that of a pen, “and I’ll write your name.” The skronky, horn-driven lead single “Shake It Off” communicates a cheerful disinterest in being critiqued, and a panicked, operatic vocal sample of Swift singing the word “Stay!” gives the swerving “All You Had to Do Was Stay” an oddball kick. The angriest song here is “Bad Blood,” a chanting call to arms over a dispute with a frenemy, and even it feels tongue-in-cheek. Instead of pain, the songs about romance vibrate with fluttering lust or wistful nostalgia. The winking disco anthem “Style” packs a nasty ’70s groove, while strings and a lush refrain lend “Wildest Dreams” a cinematic grandeur: “He’s so tall, and handsome as hell,” she exhales. Surging drums and a jagged bassline, courtesy of fun. rocker Jack Antonoff, mitigate the longing of “I Wish You Would.” Even the atmospheric electro-ballad “This Love” is more hopeful than anguished, enlivened by a catchy chorus and Swift’s breathless delivery. Though Swift is skilled with melody, her deadliest weapon is a superhuman knack for tight, evocative images–a skill she employs sparingly here. On the tense “Out of the Woods,” she ruefully recounts deciding “to move the furniture so we could dance,” while the feathery “Clean,” a collaboration with English composer Imogen Heap, sees her comparing a relationship to “a wine-stained dress I can’t wear anymore.” But the most potent statements are sonic, like “I Know Places,” a thrillingly paranoid cut with a drum-and-bass-like intensity. It’s the album’s darkest moment, until the chorus fills the song with light. As long as Swift writes autobiographically, her romantic affairs will be the subject of speculation, but it’s the expertly crafted sound of _1989_ that marks her most impressive sleight of hand yet–shifting the focus away from her past and onto her music, which is as smart and confident as it’s ever been. Who are these songs about? When they sound this good, who cares? ### PHOTOS: See Taylor Swift Over the Years  Taylor Swift arrives at the 2006 CMT Music Awards at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. John Shearer—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift arrives at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Kevin Mazur—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during the 42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during the Academy of Country Music New Artists' Party for a Cause show at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs live on MTV's "TRL" at the MTV Studios in Times Square in New York City in 2008. Gary Gershoff—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift attends the 42nd Annual CMA Awards at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008. Ed Rode—WireImage/Getty Images  Singer Taylor Swift arrives at CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California in 2008. Jon Kopaloff—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs on Saturday Night Live in 2009. NBC/Getty Images  Taylor Swift arrives at the Brit Awards 2009 at Earls Court in London, England. Gareth Cattermole—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards All-Star Jam at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2009. Ethan Miller—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2009. Theo Wargo—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift arrives to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Stephen Lovekin—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the 43rd Annual CMA Awards from the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Katherine Bomboy—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs onstage at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards held at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California in 2010. Michael Caulfield—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift drops one of her awards during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California in 2010. Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010. Rick Diamond—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during the Grand Ole Opry 85th birthday bash at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010. Tony R. Phipps—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs "Back to December" at the 44th Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee in 2010. Rick Diamond—Getty Images  Taylor Swift attends the 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011. TIMOTHY A. CLARY—AFP/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Jason LaVeris—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the Radio One Teen Awards at Wembley Arena in London, England in 2012. Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the Radio One Teen Awards at Wembley Arena in London, England in 2012. Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift switches on the Christmas lights and performs for fans and shoppers at Westfield London in London, England in 2012. Mike Marsland—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift arrives at the 26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. Don Arnold—WireImage/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs on stage during the 26th Annual ARIA Awards 2012 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. Brendon Thorne—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during night 1 of the 2012 KIIS FM Jingle Ball at Nokia Theatre LA Live in Los Angeles, California. C Flanigan—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Taylor Swift in concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in 2013. Barry Chin—Boston Globe/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs while Candice Swanepoel walks the runway at the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City. Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on May 30, 2014 in Shanghai, China. ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2014 American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca. Michael Tran—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs at the 2014 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Nov. 23, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca. Christopher Polk—Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs on The Voice in 2014. NBC/Getty Images  Taylor Swift performs during the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Earl's Court exhibition centre on Dec. 2, 2014 in London, England. Dimitrios Kambouris—Getty Images for Victoria's Secr  Taylor Swift performs onstage during KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2014 at Staples Center on December 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, Ca. 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