Red

**Taylor Swift has often said that her worst fear is people describing her music as sounding all the same. Her latest album Red certainly pushes against this fear whilst maintaining the aspects of her music that make her so well-loved.**

I Knew You Were Trouble starts with the ever-so-familiar line “once upon a time” in the same way that Forever And Always from Fearless does. This is precisely what Taylor does best: she sets up the fairy tale to demonstrate how the boy managed to destroy it. She dabbles in the world of extremes- if the fairy tale stock characters do not succeed in maintaining the ultimate love then the only other alternative is excruciating heartbreak.

Aside from the familiar storyline, I Knew You Were Trouble in no way resembles anything from Taylor’s Nashville roots. The commercialised dubstep influence of producer Max Martin does nothing to dissuade the “Swifties” (self-proclaimed die-hard fans). Instead, they fall in line and in love with the unashamedly catchy cheesy-pop tunes like tunes like 22 and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. However, the hint of self-mockery in 22 when she remarks “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway?” proves she is aware of her position in the music world and relishes in it.

It is the collaborations with Gary Lightbody and Ed Sheeran that give Red the edge over Taylor’s previous albums. Lightbody brings to The Last Time the simplicity that made Snow Patrol so famous and wraps it into a classic Taylor Swift tale of heartbreak, except for the first time the boy in the story is allowed a voice. Their interplay of voices that almost echo each other finally provide a coherent and perhaps more plausible story that allow listeners to immerse themselves entirely in the romance.

Taylor Swift has become a teenage icon- people love her as much as they love her music. So even if Swifties are at first shocked by the dubstep and synth rhythms that pervade some of her new material, they will come to love it because they love her.

**MP3:** ‘The Last Time’
**Similar To:** Demi Lovato, Lady Antebellum