I do not like that album. At all. It felt that, because of all the negative press attention she had received in the couple of years before that for being mean and a snake, she was going to play right into that, even if it's not an attitude she can front naturally. So, that album did not sound like her at all.
But there was one song that was a musical shift for her, but still sounded like something she would write. That song is the opening track of Red, "State of Grace". This isn't a country song, it's not super poppy. This is a stadium anthem. It's an epic. It's not a song she makes all the time, so when I first played this album in full, it was a surprise. Normally, her bigger anthemic songs like "Change" on Fearless and "Long Live" on Speak Now typically close out her albums. By picking "State of Grace" as the opening track, it feels like a mission statement. Of course, as you make your way through the album, you realize that that song is an outlier, with the remaining tracks much more in her wheelhouse, but more mature and a couple more pop songs than her previous albums.
So, now that she's got the bad girl attitude out of her system, maybe she can rediscover herself, and the kinds of songs that worked for her in the past, without moving backwards. But until then, there's this underrated gem to tide me over.
