On Sept. 25, Taylor Swift released the deluxe version of her album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” following a series of teasers over the past week. “The Encore” includes four new tracks, led by its single, “Patient Zero.”
On Sept. 22, Swift’s website started a two-hour countdown, which announced her newest single, “Patient Zero.” The next day, Swift confirmed the teaser she gave during her surprise cameo at the Emmy Awards, announcing “The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore” on social media.
The deluxe comes with a tall task of reviving the reputation of the record, which was panned by fans and critics alike. Controversy consumed the album for weeks after its release, and despite its historic opening week on the Billboard 200 chart, it still received fierce criticism, with many critics calling the record the worst of Swift’s career.
Just two days after the deluxe announcement was made, the album dropped. The deluxe begins with “Patient Zero,” followed by “Cleveland!,” “Pink Clouding” and “Babylon.”
“Patient Zero” opens with a violin instrumental, and when Swift's vocals join the song, her cadence and tone clash with the instrumental until the drums enter. The lyrics go through an interaction between Swift and her ex’s new partner, showcasing an understanding of the partner’s problems.
That conversation is showcased much more directly in the bridge, when Swift switches to talk-singing with little distinct rhythm or reason. The section, which has little instrumental to cover it, is a rough listen, especially for something Swift has executed so well in previous records.
The track has few redeeming qualities, and there is no clear reason why this track should be the single, as nothing gives it a clear appeal to the general public. Yet, the next track does not sound much better.
Unfortunately for Cleveland natives, “Cleveland!,” which interestingly is very Christmas-sounding, is everything that made the original record a step down in Swift’s discography. The talk-singing has returned, accompanied by almost painfully cringeworthy lyricism, which it cannot fully commit to.
The track is a nod to her husband Travis Kelce’s hometown of Cleveland Heights. It discusses the negative public perception of the couple’s relationship and their love’s capability to overcome it, something she has discussed with previous relationships but never executed this poorly.
Her previous record, “The Tortured Poets Department,” used the concept of the public’s perception of her relationship on several tracks like “But Daddy I Love Him” and “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can).” The tracks show her capability to write this concept excellently, but when it comes to her husband, the concept struggles to get off the ground.
However, Swift is able to find her pen on the next track with the best song on the deluxe. “Pink Clouding” is a notable improvement in songwriting and production compared to the rest of the new tracks and is a standout as a whole.
The song, which is lyrically composed similarly to her 2022 track, “Maroon,” uses the phenomenon of pink clouding as a metaphor for recovery from a breakup. “Pink Clouding” is a feeling of exhilaration during early recovery from addiction treatment; Swift uses this concept as a representation of the thrill she felt at the beginning of a new relationship.
The sweet synth-pop sound brings us right into the exhilaration, and the light bubbliness of Swift's voice adds to that. It helps that she doesn’t randomly start talking halfway through the song. The bridge slightly leans into the talk-singing, but it is executed well and is not accompanied by weak lyricism.
“Babylon” is the most Swift-sounding track of the four, which lacks much to make it a standout. The use of Babylon as a metaphor for the loss of something perfect and not valuing what someone has brings the whole track together lyrically.
It is the most cohesive track lyrically, but its repetitive production and cadence do not allow the track to explore those lyrics to its potential, a problem that had consumed the original album. Unfortunately for Swift, the new tracks do not save the issues of the original record; they exacerbate them.
“The Encore” brings more mundane and inherently bad tracks to an already weak album in Swift’s discography. The record’s reputation will continue to be a stain on Swift’s discography and the public’s view of her songwriting.
