From 2024's sprawling, introspective The Tortured Poets Department to the shimmering, irrepressibly joyful The Life of a Showgirl – Taylor Swift has once more laid her soul bare.
And what a delight it is to hear the popstar in such jubilant form.
Her intoxicating romance with her fiancé, the wonderfully goofy American footballer Travis Kelce, takes centre stage here, but she still finds time to impart some delightfully barbed asides to past foes, in the manner she does best.
The pop megastar recorded her twelfth studio album in between dates on her world-dominating, record-breaking Eras Tour and as well as being steeped in the headiness of early love, the album sees her grapple with her unparalleled level of celebrity and the cruel fickleness of the online world.
Reuniting with Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, who created some of her best songs and biggest bangers (Shake It Off, Blank Space, I Knew You Were Trouble, Delicate), The Life of a Showgirl is her shortest album to date - a carefully curated collection of 12 songs that seems to be adhering to an "all killer, no filler" mantra.
She turns the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet on its head with the triumphant opening track The Fate of Ophelia, with the first line, "I heard you calling on the megaphone", seemingly a reference to Kelce brazenly announcing he wanted to date her on his podcast. The Fleetwood Mac-tinged love letter seems to credit him with saving her from devastation. ("And if you'd never come for me, I might’ve drowned in the melancholy. I swore my loyalty to me, myself and I, right before you lit my sky up.")
The dramatic Elizabeth Taylor contrasts past relationships buckling under the unforgiving glare of fame with her current partner ("All the right guys promised they'd stay, under bright lights, they withered away, but you bloom."), while giving a searing side-eye to celebrity culture ("You’re only as hot as your last hit baby.")
Beezy, country-tinged Opalite chronicles a journey from unhappy singlehood ("I had a bad habit of missing lovers past.") to the exhilaration of finding true love ("Oh my lord never made someone like you before.") with a crazily infectious hook to match.
There can be no mistaking that the George Michael-referenced Father Figure is an allusion to Swift regaining control of her back-catalogue ("You pulled the wrong trigger, this empire belongs to me.") while the gorgeously vulnerable Eldest Daughter, set over a piano and simple acoustic guitar, is a poignant ode to loyalty ("When I said I didn’t believe in marriage, that was a lie.")
There’s a gear change with Ruin The Friendship, a deeply moving, grief-filled exploration of not acting on a high school crush that has an ultimately uplifting message ("My advice is always ruin the friendship, better that than regret it.")
The ridiculously catchy, grungy Actually Romantic (which bears more than a passing resemblance to The Pixies’ everlasting hit Where Is My Mind) is the juiciest song on display here which has already set the internet ablaze with speculation ("I heard you call me Boring Barbie when the coke’s got you brave. High fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.") It’s a pitch-perfect diss track with playfulness instead of spite dominating.
Wi$h Li$t, replete with breathy vocals and airy pop-synth production, sees Swift lay out her stall for her idyllic hopes for the future ("Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you"). The Motown-tinged, Jackson 5-esque Wood is an undeniable bop but filled with raunchy, slightly cringey innuendo.
CANCELLED! is one of the album’s most fascinating offerings. Imbued with Reputation-era venom, it sees Swift reflect on the savagery of the online mob and cancel culture. ("Good thing I like my friends cancelled, I like 'em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal. At least you know exactly who your friends are, they're the ones with matching scars.")
Honey is pure, unadultered Swiftie gorgeousness ("You can call me honey if you want because I'm the one you want.") that manages to avoid falling into sickly-sweet territory.
The album closes out with the gloriously sweeping title track featuring the only guest collaborator, fellow pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter, who was the perfect choice to duet on this rumination on life in the spotlight. ("I'm married to the hustle and now I know the life of a showgirl.")
Concise, vivid and unrestrained, The Life Of A Showgirl sees Swift riding high on her personal and public successes and demonstrates that happiness is just as good a place to find inspiration as heartbreak.
