Maps of Music

Lover (2019)

Where the lyrics of Lover take you, and where it was really made.

Lover is the first album Swift released after leaving Big Machine Records, a departure that set off a public dispute over ownership of her earlier albums.

Key places

Where most of the album was recorded (2019)

Recording site Electric Lady Studios — Antonoff co-produced 11 tracks on Lover, and all of them were recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The studio is the main recording location named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

London sessions (2019)

Recording site Metropolis Studios — Paper Rings, London Boy, and Daylight were additionally recorded at Metropolis Studios in London. The tracks reflect the studio's use in the London sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Los Angeles session (2019)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Cruel Summer and I Think He Knows were additionally recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, along with the first two tracks of the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Auckland recording (2019)

Recording site Golden Age West — Little co-produced four tracks on Lover, and some of these were recorded at Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand. This is the only New Zealand recording location named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lover: seventh studio album by Taylor Swift
• Released 23 August 2019 through Republic Records
• First album after leaving Big Machine Records, which caused a public dispute over the ownership of Swift's past albums
• Produced by Swift with Jack Antonoff, Joel Little, Louis Bell, and Frank Dukes
• Swift described the album as a "love letter to love"
• Explores infatuation, commitment, lust, and heartache; a few songs address LGBT rights and feminism
• Musically a 1980s-inspired synth-pop, dream pop, and pop rock record, with elements of country, folk, and funk

Background

• Swift recorded it after finishing the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour
• She had recalibrated her personal life and artistic direction after the controversies that preceded Reputation (2017)
• The 2014 album 1989 moved her from country to pop with a 1980s synth-pop sound
• After the Reputation Stadium Tour ended in November 2018, she signed with Republic Records
• She voiced a political opinion publicly for the first time by endorsing two Democrat candidates in Tennessee for the 2018 midterm elections

Recording

• Recording started in November 2018, soon after the Reputation Stadium Tour
• Antonoff co-produced 11 tracks, all recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City
• Paper Rings, London Boy, and Daylight were also recorded at Metropolis Studios in London
• Cruel Summer and I Think He Knows were also recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles
• Little co-produced four tracks, recorded at Electric Lady Studios, Golden Age Studios in Los Angeles, and Golden Age West in Auckland, New Zealand
• Recording wrapped on 24 February 2019

Cover

• Colombian photographer and collage artist Valheria Rocha worked on the art direction and photographed and edited the cover
• The cover shows Swift with sapphire hair tips and a pink, glittery heart shape on her right eye in front of pink clouds

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
• Named after singer-songwriter James Taylor.
• Moved to Nashville area at 14 to pursue a country music career.
• Signed with Big Machine Records in 2005.

Career

• Debut album Taylor Swift (2006) peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200.
• Fearless (2008) spent eleven weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US.
• Shifted from country to pop with 1989 (2014), which spent eleven weeks at number one.
• Released Folklore and Evermore (2020), indie folk albums that debuted at number one.
• Re-recorded her first six albums after a dispute over her master recordings.
• The Eras Tour (2023–2024) became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
• Holds 14 Grammy Awards, including a record four Album of the Year wins.
• Named Time Person of the Year in 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Most reviewers commended the album's themes of positivity and emotional intimacy
• Jon Caramanica of The New York Times, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph, and Robert Christgau welcomed it as Swift's return to form
• Rolling Stone's Nick Catucci called the album "evolutionary rather than revolutionary" and praised its "free and unhurried" styles
• The Guardian's Alexis Petridis viewed it as a testament to Swift's songwriting but called its genre-spanning styles "consolidation, not progress"
• Some critics took issue with its length and the wide-ranging musical styles, calling them incohesive
• Paste's Claire Martin was critical, finding the music unimpressive

Reappraisal

• Consequence, Spin, and Entertainment Weekly ranked it as a weaker album in Swift's discography
• The Alternative Press said its free-spirited sound was both "its blessing and its curse"
• Paste called it a "mixed bag" and a "transitional work"
• In a USA Today article for its second anniversary, David Oliver and Hannah Yasharoff called it Swift's "lost masterpiece"

Records

• US: debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 867,000 first-week album-equivalent units, Swift's sixth number-one album
• Best-selling album in the US of 2019 with 1.085 million pure copies sold
• Certified platinum by the RIAA after four weeks, later seven-times platinum in September 2025
• Topped charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom
• All 18 tracks charted simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100
• Sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in 2019

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Swift first considered Daylight as the album's title but dropped the idea because she thought it was too on-the-nose
• The cover was photographed and edited by Valheria Rocha; some media said the artwork evoked summer and music festivals
• Entertainment Weekly's Emma Madden compared the cover to a fan-made aesthetic post on Tumblr
• The Netflix documentary Miss Americana, directed by Lana Wilson, was released in January 2020 and is named after the album's seventh track
• The planned Lover Fest tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• In August 2022 author Teresa La Dart filed a copyright complaint over the companion book bundled with the deluxe CD editions; Billboard reported in July 2023 that she withdrew the case without any settlement

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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