Well, yes, it can. Taylor Swift found out when she released "Reputation". That record was her defining moment as an artist, the one where she decided to try to be something other than the smiling, perpetually young woman singing songs about her various heart-breaks. In other words, she turned heel. And like any heel turn that isn't justified through logic, the fans rejected it.
To be fair, "Reputation" was a terrible album, and having her try to play the victim was such a bad idea, it makes me wonder how the industry machine didn't realize it along the way. No one believed Taylor was a victim, nor that she deserved our sympathy. Rich, famous, well-regarded people have to realize that even when they are aggrieved, the rest of us don't want to hear about how tough it is for multi-millionaires.
Which brings us to "Lover", Taylor's attempt to forget "Reputation" ever happened. Instead of touting herself a snake and bathing in diamonds, Taylor gave us our first glimpse of this record with bubblegum colors and lyrics about not being able to spell awesome without 'me'. It was beyond hokey, and perfectly on point to the character of the 'old Taylor' she proclaimed dead a few years back. Of course, we can also note that she's getting a bit old for that kind of precociousness, but she is also a bit ageless, so I won't hold it against her.... yet.
"Lover" is what passes for bright, shiny pop music today, but let's be clear about what that is. This music is still what I would call cold and sterile, much like "1989" was (I love that album, but it worked in part because of how detached it sounded, which fits how Taylor the person and Taylor the artist coexist - the same sound was used to even better effect by Pale Waves last year). The songs are build on beats and synths that aren't pretty to listen to. The sound is all mechanical, clinical, and calculated to within an inch of its life. The entire production is, to the point that when an acoustic guitar shows up in the title track, it hardly sounds real. It's almost as though we're listening to the album after it had been recorded off someone's iPhone speaker.
The good (or bad, depending on your view) effect of that production style is tat Taylor's voice sits up front in the mix, with nothing else warm sounding getting in the way. It reveals her laid-back charisma as a vocalist, but also her limitations. She is clever is how she writes melodies that work for her range, never trying to do anything she can't. Whatever else you might think of her, Taylor Swift is a smart musician. Plenty of people with more ability can't do with it a fraction of what she has managed.
The other thing that's odd is the proliferation of songs in the front half of the record that are incredibly slow, quiet, and moody. The title track, along with "The Archer", are both energy killers of the highest order. They are good for what they are, but on a pop album, they are total buzzkills. And with both of them in the first five tracks, it sends a message that we're not supposed to be enjoying ourselves, because despite her outward appearance, Taylor isn't enjoying herself either.
In High Fidelity, Rob asks the eternal question, "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" That's where I feel Taylor is. The overwhelming feeling I get from listening to "Lover" is that Taylor is not a happy person right now, and this is a misanthropic attempt at making pop music. If it's supposed to be upbeat and fun, it's a complete failure. Maybe I'm just trying to give her an excuse.
"Lover" is, without question, a better record than "Reputation". That record was a mess, and featured a couple moments that were genuinely cringe-worthy. There's none of that to be found here, which alone makes it a better record. The problem, though, is that Taylor the pop star is not nearly as interesting as Taylor the country star trying to be pop. This music is bleak and dour, and it doesn't make a very strong case for why we should want to listen to it again and again. It's pretty clear to me why the singles from this record are trending worse on the charts than those from "Reputation", which were worse than the ones from "1989". The novelty of Taylor being a pop star is over, and she's already run through all her best ideas. You could call "Lover" a reboot of "1989" for what it's worth.
I started by saying this is a critical moment for Taylor Swift. She's already hit the peak of her career, so the question is just how gentle she can make the slide back to reality. This makes two records in a row that aren't likely to generate any enduring singles, and for a pop artist, that's the worst thing we can say. There's plenty of enjoyable music on "Lover", but nothing that is going to become a part of pop's collective consciousness the way "Blank Space" and "Wildest Dreams" did. This record is, dare I say, disposable.
Taylor Swift isn't going anywhere. She's too big a business not to keep selling tickets and cashing checks for years to come. But I think her days of being an artist are over. Her records used to be on the label Big Machine, which is funny, since Taylor Swift the musician is now just that, a machine. I can hear it in the music, and I don't think it's going to age very well.
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