Riffiter on The Life of a Showgirl

The Life of a Showgirl is the most disciplined record Swift has made since 1989. Twelve songs, all built with Max Martin and Shellback, all finished to the same high gloss. Coming after the 31-track sprawl of The Tortured Poets Department, the edit reads like a correction, and for about half the album it pays off: the hooks land early and nothing drags. The other half sounds written to be captioned more than sung, clever lines sitting on top of choruses that don't need them. It moved 4.002 million units in its first US week, more than Adele's 25, and settled at 69 on Metacritic, which is about where the good half and the rest meet. Worth keeping the best four or five. The rest is well made and easy to forget.