Knowing what I knew about Taylor Swift, I was sure the “Midnights” album would be good if not great but the second the first few notes of “Lavender Haze” sounded I knew I was listening to arguably one of the best albums of Swift’s career. In one song, “snow on the beach” Swift sings about falling in love and being entirely in awe of the love. The song is simple and sweet, including harmonies with Lana del Rey, overall the song is beautiful with a positive message. In the next song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” Swift sings about the feeling of loneliness that has never left her throughout her life through the steady beat that speeds up throughout the song combined with the lyrics that transition through Swifts memories, this song feels less like a walk down memory lane and more trying to run from your painful past. This is a stark contrast to the calming happy sound and message of the previous song.

“Midnights” has managed something few other albums have, it combines heartbreak and happiness, past and present and self-love and self-loathing into a one hour and nine-minute experience. Swift has managed something few musicians have, she has allowed happiness and sadness to perfectly coexist. In some cases, she does this by writing happy and sad songs back to back or in other cases by writing sad lyrics to happy music. You can feel the anguish and joy that Swift felt in the middle of the night through these songs.

One of the best examples of how Swift has allowed sad and happy to coexist within “Midnights” is in her song Anti-hero, Swift herself has called this her most vulnerable song about her insecurities she’s ever released yet it still sounds happy. The music of this song is remarkably happy for the incredibly sad lyrics. In one lyric Swift sings about her belief she is a walking problem, her thoughts about everyone disliking her, and her struggles with body image, yet the song remains incredibly “danceable.” This is because swift has managed to put these heartbreak’;ing lyrics to incredibly fun and upbeat music

Just like the emotions Swift’s style throughout this era has varied between two very distinct looks, one look is a somewhat “dingy” 1970s look that has little makeup and of course 70s style clothing. Swift’s other look this era has been a shiny glitzy look often accented with her signature red lip, reminiscent of her mirrorball days. It looks like Swift is showing off two sides of her through every part of this album.

If “Midnights” proves one thing it’s that Swift could truly teach a masterclass in the blending of emotion through lyricism.