1989
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine)
Four stars
It’s the decade that refuses to die. The 1980s influences and revivals are all around us in the movies we watch and, especially, in the music we listen to.
So it perhaps wasn’t a huge surprise when Taylor Swift announced her latest album would be inspired by the year of her birth.
A more interesting proposition, however, was whether her already successful career, solidly anchored within the country-pop genre, could expand to include an out-and-out mainstream pop album.
Thankfully, 1989 still sounds like a Taylor Swift album – although one that's expanded to the musical equivalent of big-screen IMAX proportions. Nearly all of the tracks have been polished to a sparkling sheen with a steady supply of warm synths, scudding beats and, of course, Swift's confident vocals.
The opener, Welcome to New York, is an anthem marking Swift's arrival at the gates of pop stardom and it benefits from a fun synth line.
The singer's much-publicised friendship with the Kiwi indie-pop darling Lorde has also clearly rubbed off on her creatively. The new single Blank Space is what Lorde would sound like with a million-dollar budget.
Out of the Woods is the album's highlight – the production is ambitious and dense, with chant-like snippets zooming around both sets of speakers. The much-publicised first single Shake it Off may have turned heads when it was released in August, but within the context of 1989 it comes off as a piece of welcome fluff.
If Swift had rounded off the album with the 11th track, the power ballad This Love, she would have left us with a tight and concise pop record that would have been a contender for album of the year. Unfortunately tracks 12 and 13, I Know Places and Clean, are weak.
Those clunkers aside, 1989 is indeed a major step forward for Swift. Despite the big sonic makeover, her artistic voice remains solidly intact and that is indeed something to celebrate in the here and now.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
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Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
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