1989 Review

The gamble was total and it paid immediately. Blank Space is the smartest thing here, a self aware caricature of her own tabloid reputation set to a beat made of finger snaps and a bassline that barely exists, and it is funnier than anyone gave it credit for. Style is the best produced song in her catalogue, all wet guitar and restraint, and it still sounds expensive. Out of the Woods builds anxiety out of a chant.

Wildest Dreams is pure atmosphere. New Romantics, absurdly left off the standard tracklist, is one of her three best songs. What she gave up is depth: the writing is broader here, moods and images rather than the forensic detail of Red, and Bad Blood and Shake It Off are both weaker than their profile suggests. It does not matter much. As a pop album it is close to flawless, it never drags, and it reset what a country artist was allowed to become.