I’m not going to hide my disappointment with this new Taylor Swift era. After setting an empowering precedent with her sixth studio record ‘Reputation’ which heard her taking control of her narrative and inspiring female empowerment, she has questionably taken a few steps backwards. ‘ME!’ featuring Brendon Urie was a tacky and gimmicky pop song that didn’t hold a decent punch unlike her previous singles. Instead it sounded like a lead single for the soundtrack of Despicable Me 32 or Trolls 5 with it’s cheesy hook. The whole world wanted more and that was represented by some of her poorest chart results yet. Her new single ‘You Need To Calm Down’ had the potential to get everyone on her side again and showcase a mature approach but instead she’s done it again and delivered a cheesy moment. With a similar production to ‘Gorgeous’ during the verses you can immediately hear where this song is sonically going. When the chorus eventually hits your deepest fears are confirmed with the painful “So oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh” echoing through the hook. It feels like the song has been centred around the title because of it’s easy profit for merch, Instagram quotes and tabloid stories. The name itself sells the song. You immediately want to hear it to find out who she’s telling to calm down. And from there you want to use that phrase in a sassy and empowering way which is how she’s sold it. But at the roots of this song, it’s not great. It’s not a song that you will want to willingly hit replay on and if you do, it’s probably just because it’s Taylor Swift and you want to want to like it. If it was any other artist like Meghan Trainor you wouldn’t even give it a second listen. Her seventh studio album ‘Lover’ will be released on August 23.