The moment that every Swiftie has been dreaming of has finally come: the release of Taylor Swift’s most recent album, “Midnights.” The highly anticipated album with an original tracklist of 13 songs was released on Friday, Oct. 21 at midnight. Three hours later, the artist released an additional seven songs, which she referred to as the “3am Tracks.” Fans were ecstatic to listen as most were awake through the night to listen to the album in its entirety. Fans were pleasantly surprised by the transition from the alternative sounds of “Evermore” and “Folklore” to the pop album that some described as a descendant of Swift’s “1989.” There is no doubt that Swift’s pop tracks have been missed, and the artist has definitely released the album of the year. 

The listener is brought into the album with the first track, “Lavender Haze,” an upbeat pop track, reminiscent of a song one would expect to hear on Swift’s album, “Lover.” This song is followed by “Maroon,” a slower, but equally as encapsulating, song about the burn out of a relationship. What has always made Swift’s songs stand out among those of other artists is the metaphoric and storytelling lyricism. Swift is able to take a song and turn it into a transformative experience for her listeners. 

With the next track, “Anti-Hero,” Swift expresses numerous insecurities through creative metaphors about a battle within herself. A line from the song that stuck with me while listening was, “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror,” which emphasizes Swift’s insecurities that many listeners can relate to. The artist has always used her music to not only tell stories, but to also share these stories with her fans who can empathize with them on numerous levels. 

With the next tracks, “Snow on the Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey),” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” Swift brings the jubilant pop beats back to relaxing melodies. If there is one thing that fans can agree on, it is that Swift undoubtedly curates the best bridges in her songs. One of these exceptional bridges can be found in “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” in which Swift takes the listener on a gut-wrenching emotional journey of the pain she went through to gain praise and to make her relationships work when she was not getting nearly the same in return. With each track on the album, one is transformed directly into the music, with a clear scene being portrayed by each song. The following tracks, “Midnight Rain” and “Question…?,” bring the listeners back to a light-hearted and joyous beat, while keeping their emotions on edge. These emotions are quickly converted to a dark and vengeful tone with “Vigilante S***,” a track written solely by Swift in which she brings back the tone from her 2016 album, “Reputation.” This is precisely why “Midnights” has been such a hit: its versatile tones give the listeners a taste of almost every one of Taylor Swift’s past music genres while revisiting her pop era. Tracks nine through 13 include diverse tones, with the synth beats in “Labyrinth” and “Mastermind,” as well as the light piano tunes in “Sweet Nothing.” 

The last seven songs on the album — the “3am Tracks” — added the finishing touches to the masterpiece that is “Midnights.” As I listened to this album, not only did I experience waves of different emotions, but also pure serenity. Swift has a compelling ability to completely entrance her listeners and place them into the stories of her songs. Whether these stories be filled with blissful love, painful heartache or vengeance, Swift manages to capture every emotion and place it into a beautiful combination of melodies and lyrics. When one listens to Swift, they are not simply complacently listening, but rather dissecting each lyric for the hidden and deeper meaning, which there always is. I can confidently say that “Midnights” is one of Swift’s most impeccable creations yet, which is not surprising as every project that Swift executes is an undeniable success. I suggest you do yourself a favor by putting in your earbuds and pressing shuffle on “Midnights”: the album of the year.