Amid getting leaked prior to its official release, Taylor Swift's "1989" is reportedly aiming at a close-to-a-million debut sales.
Swifities from across the United States have been gushing about Swift's genius but what do critics have to say about the "Shake It Off" singer's foray into the pop world?
Swift mentioned in recent interviews that her new album is not boy-centric, making it different from her previous works. Vulture's Lindsay Zoladz agrees and calls Taylor Swift's "1989," the singer's "most conservative album yet." Zoladz concludes that "in the process of streamlining her sound, Swift has sanded off a lot of the edges that once made her perspective so unique. The disappointing thing is that she didn't really have to ... Swift's definition of the genre is a little old-fashioned, and laying out such a self-conscious plan to make a 'documented, official pop album' seems to have boxed her in."
Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield's view of the album is the complete opposite of Zoladz's sentiments and gave the album four stars out of five. "When Taylor Swift decides to do something, the girl really knows how to overdo it," he said about the singer's latest album. "Deeply weird, feverishly emotional, wildly enthusiastic, '1989' sounds exactly like Taylor Swift, even when it sounds like nothing she's ever tried before. And yes, she takes it to extremes. Are you surprised? This is Taylor Swift, remember? Extremes are where she starts out."
Time's Sam Lansky is convinced of the record's nod to pop music, saying "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." He adds, "Thematically, too, Swift breaks with the past, skirting victimhood and takedowns of maddening exes, critics and romantic competitors. Instead, there's a newfound levity."
Taylor Swift's "1989" also got four stars out of five from Billboard's Jem Aswad. "A clean break with the core audience is a risky move for any artist," Aswad said. "At worst, it's like ill-advised plastic surgery, a blandifying of the distinctive qualities and quirks that made the person interesting in the first place. But Swift avoided that fate entirely with this album, making her rare ability to write for multiple audiences and ages even more universal."
