Taylor Swift: 'Red' - Album review

How anybody can survive so much heartache and relationship drama and then turn it into three albums' worth of material is beyond us, but that's precisely what country music's it girl Taylor Swift has done. That said, it's a method that's worked brilliantly thus far, resulting in sales of 17 million as well as numerous critical accolades. As such, it will come as no surprise that Taylor has taken a stick-to-what-you-know approach on her fourth outing.

After comfortably cracking her home turf in the US, Taylor has teamed up with some of pop's biggest boffins to seduce the rest of the world with her country-pop anthems. Max Martin and Shellback slather chart-friendly gloss on ear-snagging lead single 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', while electronic buzzes on 'I Knew You Were Trouble' and the jump-around melody on '22' now set Taylor up as one of pop's biggest forces.

That's not to say she's entirely drifted away from her country roots. Opening track 'State Of Grace' is an airy folk-rock number about a random encounter that changes her perspective on life, while title track 'Red' is a banjo-twanging anthem listing the colours of her emotions. It's Taylor's knack for weaving southern tales of love into big pop hooks that's her greatest charm.

Ed Sheeran duet 'Everything Has Changed' is a mellow, guitar-driven love ditty, while 'Stay Stay Stay' is a barn dance serenade that finds her almost losing her boyfriend (yet again) over giant piano riffs. The subject matter may have barely moved on from her previous efforts, but when it's flanked by a massive pop production, she sounds anything but a broken record - especially when she's on the cusp of global domination.

Tracks to download: 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', 'State Of Grace', 'Red', '22'
If you like this, you'll like: Kelly Clarkson, Lady Antebellum, Katy Perry

Watch the music video for Taylor Swift's 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' below: