This is interesting. The first one I have actively disliked on first listen through. The Sheeran track is massively front-loaded which clearly isn't helping, but it has a kind of coldness, a negativity, that makes it a lot less fun than 1989. There's something about that tipping point, the moment where "Tonight, you're a rock'n'roll star" fades into "Where did it all go wrong?" and you realise that all you have left in terms of points of reference are your own twisted vision of reality, that it perhaps comes a time to make a change. I don't think we're there yet - or perhaps Lover will be more of an aftershock from Reputation than a continuation of trajectory. We'll see. But the inevitable backlash (or perhaps just person boredom?) that leads to folklore etc can't be far off.

I remember Louise thinking Gorgeous was hilarious when it came out, and it still has a kind of kooky charm I think. It just has a kind of blunt charm which is very appealing.And This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is not without it's charms, but...

But. It's not quite there. Were it not for the fact that I have a reasonable idea of what comes next, this is where I was wondering whether Taylor Swift Has Lost It. Come on Taylor. We're counting on you.