[NEW RELEASES] Taylor Swift

In the CD booklet for Taylor Swift’s third album, “Speak Now,” she poses for a photo tied to railroad tracks, looking like a mock damsel-in-distress with an old-fashioned dastardly villain hovering over her. The scene pokes fun at Swift’s image and songs, which often portray her as a victim to scheming fellows.

In “Speak Now,” Swift extends that role, but she also expands and deepens it, as her songs engagingly explore how a romantically obsessed young woman can survive manipulative paramours and continue to seek a love that is untainted and sturdy.

Reporters now examine Swift’s lyrics for clues about celebrity dates: Is the brutally honest “Dear John” about rocker John Mayer? Is the apologetic “Back to December” about actor Taylor Lautner?

But what matters the most is the substance in these personal tales. Like a country-pop Jane Austen, Swift excels at revealing the inner thoughts and travails of a quixotic young woman who refuses to settle for less than true, abiding love.

As Swift ages, her songs cling to a perception that she, and young adults like her, can maintain fairy-tale dreams about romance, destiny and family. Her songs concede that the real world may cast clouds on these fantasies, but she is not giving in to cynicism or pessimism yet.

Taylor Swift “Speak Now”

Label: Universal
Genre: Pop

AP