As with all comprehensive analysis, we must start with setting our scope for the project. The central thesis of this discussion is that the best art is divisive. It should prompt conversation and force us to confront our own views. Indeed, it was Mexican poet Cesar A. Cruz who said, poignantly, “art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.” And why does this thinkpiece about a pop album begin this way? “The Life of a Showgirl”, the 12th studio album by 14-time Grammy Award Winning Taylor Swift, has been met with mixed reviews. The BBC described it as a “well-deserved victory lap” for the singer-songwriter, whilst contrastingly the Guardian described the work as “dull razzle-dazzle”. So dear reader – what is the truth? And more importantly, what is Abbi Clark’s opinion? Art is subjective, but through thoughtful consideration and methodical listening, can we come to a justified assessment of its relative merits of this record within Taylor Swift’s broader discography? This author will attempt to find out.
I want to speak candidly- I felt lukewarm on this album at first listen. It was a rainy Friday morning. I was tired from my first week of work in over 2 months; my trains were cancelled repeatedly due to signal failures; and an album that starts with a jog rather than a sprint. I was confused. After years of Easter eggs and clues, was this really all the 41 minute track list had to show for itself? I was struck with fear- fear that my longtime idol let me down. But fear not! On 2nd listen, it all started to come together. What if I told you she’s a mastermind?
The Life of a Showgirl (TLOAS) is misleading – it’s not what many in the Swiftie fandom expected. Prior to release, Taylor had made grandiose statements, promising a pop album but with the lyrical stylings of albums Folklore (2020) and Evermore (2020). Had you taken this as gospel, you’d be sorely disappointed. In my view, Swift’s only misstep during this album cycle is the misrepresentation of the album’s nature. Whilst TLOAS does deal with some tricky themes and contain moments of highly poetic prose much her 2020 work, lyrically it is far more simple than her folk-inspired albums, and sonically it is much closer to the synthpop arrangements of the likes of 1989 (2014). This is little surprise when one considers that Taylor collaborated with Shellback and Max Martin on this project – the first time she has done so since 1989. Musically, this album is lighthearted and fun. The songs seem 80s inspired and are bright and easy to bop one’s head along to. Lyrically, Taylor is really pushing the envelope here, using profanity much more than we as an audience are used to and an unfilteredness when speaking about men or her animosity towards others (see below RE Charli xcx). I read this as an indication of her increased boldness with her craft – and your predisposed opinion of her as a person will dictate whether you interpret this as confidence or cockiness.
I did see quite a lot of literature suggesting her art is suffering because she knows she is “too big to fail”. However, as a 35 year old woman, is it reasonable to expect the same themes as with works made much earlier in her 20-year career? I think not. Whilst a couple of these songs are scandalous (I’d seriously encourage parents of young children to listen before giving unfiltered access), is this not something that modern feminism has afforded her? Whether I like it or not, I feel that it’s beautiful that Taylor as an experienced artist feels she can be unapologetically open about her feelings and thoughts. That being said, listeners may come away knowing more than they bargained for about her private life….
That said, I reject the premise that this album is bad – simply because it’s not a rehash of older work. If you constantly want more of the same, you’ll never get anything new – and boy, is this new. The prevailing themes explored throughout this album are her relationship with her now fiancé Travis Kelce, and her relationship with fame. There is an isolated exception, which is the song “Actually Romantic”. I struggle with this, as it is clearly a disstrack about fellow musician Charli xcx, who you’ll already know is my second favourite artist of all time. However, my personal feelings of becoming a quasi ‘child of pop music divorce’ are irrelevant here – the song is really fun, and I like it.
Whilst this is only a 12 track album, I could go on about it for years. However, I have opted for the sake of everyone to not do a track-by-track rundown. However, you can see my full provisional track ranking below, accompanied with some light commentary. I have additionally put the songs that made me cry in bold, for easy reference:
| AC Ranking | Song Title | Commentary |
| 1 | Father Figure | This song is fabulous – Taylor creates a Sopranos-esque world to explore the way she was exploited by the music industry, In the bridge and final verse, she steps into the role of the mafia boss as she now owns her music masters and is – indeed – the master of her own fate. “You want a fight you found it […] Who’s portrait’s on the mantle? Who covered up your scandals? Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled. This empire belongs to me“ |
| 2 | Opalite | I haven’t quite gotten to the bottom of exactly the intent of this song is. However, my interpretation, is that it is the struggle to stay happy. It’s about having to make your own happiness and working really hard to force that (“dancing through the lightning strikes“), but then something happens which makes it so much easier for you (“now the sky is opalite“). I cry every single time I hear the song because to me the bridge is so beautiful – “It’s just a storm inside a teacup, but shelter here with me my love […] this is just a temporary speed bump, but failure brings you freedom“. It makes me feel like everything will be okay 🙂 |
| 3 | Ruin the Friendship | Wow… talk about storytelling. This is a story of regret, not expressing what you should have at the time. The explosive point of this song is in the final verse, wherein the object of Taylor’s teenage affections is revealed to have passed away, leaving her with “so much left to say […] but I whispered at the grave, I should have kissed you anyway“. Sob fest every single time |
| 4 | The Fate of Ophelia | This is the title track, and it’s so fun! It’s interesting as instead of rejecting the damsel in distress role, Taylor is very much appreciative that a male suitor has saved her. Very storybook princess vibes. Super fun |
| 5 | Wi$hli$t | This is about Taylor’s desire to settle down – whilst others are caught up in material possessions, she just wants this one person. However, it is quite easy to not care about material possessions when you’re a billionaire, but I digress. |
| 6 | Actually Romantic | This is the disstrack about Charli xcx – Taylor argues that the ‘shots fired’ by Charli in the past are ‘actually romantic’ because of all the effort and attention being put in to try to get Taylor’s attention. It’s a really funny way to flip a narrative. |
| 7 | Honey | This is a straightforward love ballad. Very sweet. Fun fact – my mum wanted my name to be Honey instead of Abbi, and thank god my dad was in his right mind to veto that. |
| 8 | Cancelled | This is a very Reputation (2017) sort of song. The sentiment is that she “likes her friends cancelled“, presumably because of the common ground this affords. |
| 9 | Wood | Don’t listen if you don’t want to blush! |
| 10 | Elizabeth Taylor | This song is Taylor stepping into the role of Taylor… go figure! Obviously leaning into the ‘showgirl’ fantasy here. |
| 11 | The Life of a Showgirl (ft. Sabrina Carpenter) | This is about the general idea of being a showgirl and how difficult it is, and how only other showgirls can understand. It feels almost about passing on the baton, as Taylor passes on advice to others looking to venture into a commonly misunderstood industry. Sabrina’s voice sounds amazing here. |
| 12 | Eldest Daughter | This is my biggest disappointment on the album… I don’t dislike the song but there are some mixed metaphors going on and some confusing usages of modern slang which will make this song age like milk (“I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage“). I am strongly of the belief that the words ‘trolling‘ and ‘memes‘ shouldn’t make it into any art, but who am I to censor someone’s self expression? This is last in my ranking purely because of the way it let me down as prior to release, this was the song I was the most excited for. As an eldest daughter myself, there are plenty of elements of that experience which would be fertile ground for exploring – being the oldest and the expectations and responsibilities that are placed on you above and beyond those of your siblings, becoming a therapist to your parents, the self doubt in writing your own path in uncharted territory. None of these are explored in any meaningful way as that is not what this song is about. I am sure this song will grow on me! |
I do hope this provides a comprehensive view of the album as an experience, and any questions – do let me know. To sign off, I shall say, this record is so different to what I thought it would be, but I love it more than I thought I would, too. I am delighted, and it’s already gone triple platinum in my household.