Labyrinth (Taylor Swift song)

Taylor Swift announced her tenth original studio album, Midnights, at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28;[1] its title and cover artwork were released shortly after the same day via social media.

[2] She conceived Midnights as a collection of songs about her nocturnal ruminations, detailing a wide range of emotions such as regret, lust, nostalgia, contentment, and self-loathing.

Swift wrote and produced "Labyrinth" with Antonoff, who programmed the track, provided background vocals, and played instruments including percussion, electric guitars, and multiple synthesizers—Moog, Juno 6, Realistic Synth, and OB8.

[6] It has a prominent electronic production[29] consisting of dense, pulsating synthesizers[30] that accompany Swift's vocals in their upper register,[31][32] sung with a soft timbre.

[33] According to Annie Zaleski, the sound is "sparse and diaphanous": it comprises thick and atmospheric synthesizers, muffled beats, and "wriggling keyboard flourishes", as Swift sings the verses in her "breathy" falsetto range.

[40] Writing for the Associated Press, Elise Ryan found "Labyrinth" to be an amalgamation of styles on Swift's past albums, namely the synth sounds of 1989 (2014) and the "softer" alternative of Folklore (2020).

[36] According to Zaleski, the refrain has a "more equanimous groove" compared to the initial parts, with Swift's vocals being smoothed out and sounding "less panicked", suggesting an acceptance of this newfound romance.

[29] Critics who found the minimalist production tasteful include Sheffield,[35] Konstantinos Pappis from Our Culture Mag,[52] Alaina Conaway from The Sentinel,[37] and John Wohlmacher from Beats Per Minute.

[53] Pappis characterized the track as a midpoint between "grandiosity and resonance" and "moody restraint",[52] Light considered it a nuanced deep cut,[51] while Mary Kate Carr from The A.V.

[55] Conaway thought that the track was a risk because it favored an airy instrumental and minimal lyrics over the complex phrasings of Swift's previous songs, which showcased her artistic versatility.

[37] Sheffield and Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times praised how the track allowed the different shades of Swift's vocals to shine;[56][57] the former designated it as a "stealth classic".

[52] Neale characterized the track as a balance between romantic lyricism and "electropop vulnerability" and lauded the refrain ("I'm falling in love again") as "triumphant", adding that it could have been "mawkish in the wrong hands".

Writing for Spin, Bobby Olivier said that the song successfully created a somber atmosphere,[43] while Al Shipley felt the sound was "like an embarrassing relic of 2010s SoundCloud production trends".

[44] Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca of Business Insider found the song pleasant to listen to but added that it became uninteresting as it progressed, finding it a somewhat boring but "understandable inclusion" on Midnights.