I think the album is cheap and cheesy comparing it to her best work. Folklore/Evermore, Red, 1989, TTPD, Speak Now. However, like within a vaccum it's really not that bad. It kinda feels like if she had made Fearless now in 2025 instead of 2008.
i feel like that's ppls problem they r comparing it to her peaks in her career and like she's just not on a peak artistically atm and lot of that is bc she tends to peak artistically when she is depressed but she's not rn which is a really good thing