The queen of country-pop is back. Last night, Taylor Swift announced the impending release of her fourth studio album, Red (out on 10/22,) and a new single called “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”Musically, it represents a bit of a departure for Taylor, as it’s certainly more pop-oriented than past hits. However, lyrically, as our own Drew noted in a conversation, it seems pretty par for the course.

Our writer Dennis turned to a more authoritative Taylor Swift fan. And he didn’t even have to leave the house.

I’m not really in Taylor Swift’s target demo, so I turned to my 9 and half year old daughter, who’s a huge Taylor fan (seen her twice) for her reaction:

“It was OK but it wasn’t really Taylor Swift-ish.  She’s never sung like that.  She sounds more like Katy Perry.  I liked it but it was different.  It sounded more like pop and not country-ish.  It’s really good, but it’s not like her.”
Out of the mouths of babes, as they say.
Personally, I think she sounds more like Avril Lavigne on this record. This isn’t a good thing. I’m actually reasonably fond of Tay Tay, but this song, at least musically, sounds like regression. And eventually, she’s gonna have to leave the “boys suck, boo hoo” thing behind.
What say you, readers?