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If Taylor Swift wants to make a song that sounds like U2 - and she does just that on new album Red - who's going to tell her no? The 22-year-old turned heartache into hits, and then hits into world domination, and now the pop royal can do whatever she wants, country roots be darned.
So on Red's very first track, prickly rocker State of Grace, one of 16 cuts on the Grammy-winner's bloated but ultimately satisfying fourth LP, Swift wanders down a guitar-tingly street with no name, trying to wrap her arms around the world. The lyrics are rote - "I never saw you coming / And I'll never be the same" - but the spacious song is bold regardless: Swift has embraced her superstardom with unjaded optimism and a thirst to evolve.
If she's no longer the shy relatable diary girl, no matter: She is now TAYLOR SWIFT, a beacon of feminine oomph and genuine talent, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you still want to play guess-the-ex with her songs - is...