On Thursday, a fan Twitter account revealed the writing credits for Taylor Swift‘s Lover. It was mostly as expected — every song written by Swift herself, with a handful of collaborations with Jack Antonoff. But the writing credits also featured one curious anomaly. “Cruel Summer” is a collaboration with Antonoff and singer-songwriter Annie Clark.
💿 | Official Lover writing credits from iTunes
🎵 3 solely written songs — Lover, Cornelia Street and Daylight
🤝 Frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff is on 8 tracks, other co-writers include Joel Little, Adam Feeney, Louis Bell, Frank Dukes, St. Vincent & Mark Anthony Spears! pic.twitter.com/0GgPWmzxwS
— Taylor Swift News 🤍 (@TSwiftNZ) August 21, 2019
Now that Lover is here in full, we finally know what a Taylor Swift/Annie Clark co-production sounds like. The song is an early highlight off Lover, with big, glossy production and the capacity to be a major hit. Over pounding synths, Swift paints a picture of a summer that cuts like a knife, “unbreakable heaven” and crying in cars and forbidden love. Swift, Antonoff, and Clark are a dream team, nailing that feeling of chaotic euphoria with the specificity of three of the best songwriters working today.
Swift and Clark previously performed together at a Los Angeles date on her 1989 tour. Swift also isn’t the only pop star Clark has collaborated with recently. The singer-songwriter also performed an unlikely, excellent mash-up of “Masseduction” and “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa at the 2019 Grammys. St. Vincent’s last album, Masseduction, was co-produced by Antonoff. Apart from Lover, Antonoff also worked with Lana Del Rey on her upcoming album Norman F*cking Rockwell.
Listen to “Cruel Summer” above.
