Taylor Swift returns with new single We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, taken from her October-due, fourth album, Red. Unsurprising-if you've noted the title- the single is a spunky break-up song, that sends out a very clear message to the ex involved: "it's over, Gurlfriend"...or rather "boyfriend"....so move on!
What is surprising about the single, is the poppier route Taylor Swift has taken, here. It's not David Guetta/ Red One territory, and it's still guitar-led, but it's definetly less "Country" than her previous offerings.Whether that will end up hurting her sales and popularity in the States, I'll be interested to see, but the shift in genre is not the problem I have with the song: it's pretty much everything else.
Taylor Swift has so far demonstrated a knack for producing catchy music with a strong narrative. However, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together seems weak on both fronts. Lyrically the song sounds more like a stream of conciousness than a polished lyric, and as such, has an immature- but fittingly carefree- feel. The song's production doesn't quite hit the mark with me either, being (slightly) repetitive and (majorly) anaemic.
Let's face it, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together was not aimed at a male, in his late twenties, and as such I think I was never going to "get" it. Saying that, I can envisage tweens, teens and young adults really getting into the spirit of the song: chanting along to the chorus and embracing the empowered lyric. If she accomplishes that, then I'm sure this will be another his for Ms Swift, but it's a miss for me.
Rating: -C
