Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”: Review Revue

Rachel Sonis | August 19, 2014 9:07 am

For the past few weeks, country-pop songstress Taylor Swift has been the ultimate tease, dropping hints via Instagram about what many guessed was her much-awaited fifth studio album.

Well, the wait if over, folks! In a tell-all live-stream with Yahoo yesterday, Tay revealed that her upcoming LP is called 1989, which is a tribute of sorts to her birth-year and her first official entrance into the world of pop. What’s more, the now-not-so-country diva also premiered her latest Max Martin/Shellback-produced single “Shake It Off,” as well as the track’s rather dorky video, during the stream.

So, how did the rest of the music world feel about Tay’s latest attempt?  Here is a round-up of what some critics had to say about “Shake It Off” below.

:: The Guardian thought that the “Shake It Off” visual was not her best work: “The incongruent blend of modern dance, ballet, and breakdancing is fun, but the conceit falls flat. Taylor is a little too skilled a dancer for the comedy to really work, though watching her shake it in a Swan Lake tutu is nevertheless pretty great. That said, her twerking scenes — with closeups of the gyrating butts of anonymous, primarily black female dancers — come off as somewhat misguided.”

:: The Daily Beast was disappointed with the new track, stating, “We are in a new phase of Taylor Swift’s career. It is, apparently, one in which she feels comfortable using the term ‘sick beat’.’Taylor Swift is now a pop star. Ugh.”

:: Forbes predicts that while Taylor’s upcoming LP might be a late entry into the pop world, it will still come out on top: “Every August in an even year for the past several years, Taylor Swift has put a new album campaign in motion, so even before any of this was announced, the music world was buzzing, wondering if she would do it again. Swift is by far one of the industry’s biggest names and best sellers, so the timing of this release (in Q4) is no mistake. Expect this to become one of the biggest (if not the number one) sellers this year, even if it’s getting a late start.”

:: Hollywood Life noted that “Shake It Off” will not only be a sure-fire hit, but it also has a clear message to all of the anti-Swifties out there: “Taylor debuted an amazing new diss song on Aug. 18, but this time her feisty message wasn’t intended for an ex-boyfriend — it was for all of her ‘haters!’”

:: NOISEY compared Taylor to that of a one-woman boy band, saying that while she preaches not to conform to the norm, she is actually doing just that: “She loves conforming, so you get a pop paradox, where in order to be as poised and successful as she can be, Taylor has to dumb herself down, yet even this she manages to do with a weird adorable aplomb. So congratulations Taylor Swift, you’ve done it. You’re a one-woman boy band. Can’t wait till you split-up in two years and your left arm makes a shit indie solo album.”

:: Lastly, Consequence Of Sound questions the clip’s political correctness: “In the video for ‘Shake It Off’, which serves as the lead single to her new album 1989, Taylor dresses in variety of outfits, including a ballerina, a cheerleader, a break dancer, a cross between Lady Gaga and Kraftwerk and a rapper. It’s the latter that has drawn criticism from some on Twitter, specifically over the black female dancers who twerk alongside her. (The video will no doubt draw comparisons to Lily Allen’s ‘Hard Out Here’ video, which also came under fire for featuring black female dancers tweaking.)”

But, enough with these guys. What did you think about “Shake It Off”? Let us know below.

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