| "Loml" | |
|---|---|
| Song byTaylor Swift | |
| from the albumThe Tortured Poets Department | |
| Released | April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19) |
| Studio | Long Pond (New York) |
| Length | 4:37 |
| Label | Republic |
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Lyric video | |
| "Loml" onYouTube | |
"Loml" (stylized inall lowercase) is a song by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift from her eleventh studio album,The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Written and produced by Swift andAaron Dessner, it is a soft, melancholic piano-ledballad. The song's lyrics mourn the loss of a long-lived relationship that leaves a long-lasting mark, using extensive imagery related to death such as phantoms, graveyards, and theHoly Ghost. Whereas "Loml" is a popular initialism of "love of my life", the conclusion of the song denotes it as "loss of my life".
Music critics acclaimed the emotional songwriting with its heart-wrenching lyrics and the simple yet evocative production of "Loml". Several reviews picked the song as an album highlight. The track peaked at number 16 on theBillboard Global 200 and reached the top 20 on charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United States. Swift performed the song live three times onthe Eras Tour in 2024.
Swift developed her eleventh studio album,The Tortured Poets Department, "for about two years" after finishing her previous album,Midnights (2022).[1] Conceived amidst publicized reports on Swift's personal life, including a breakup with the English actorJoe Alwyn and a brief romantic linking with the English musicianMatty Healy,[2]The Tortured Poets Department was described by her as a "lifeline" album which she "really needed" to make.[3]Republic Records releasedThe Tortured Poets Department on April 19, 2024;[4] "Loml" is track 12 out of the 16 tracks of the standard edition.[5]
Swift performed "Loml" live for the first time on May 9, 2024, during the first Paris show ofthe Eras Tour.[6] A digital variant ofThe Tortured Poets Department containing a recorded version of this performance was released on May 24.[7] She performed "Loml" live again twice, as part of pianomashups with "Don't You" (2021) at the concert inMunich, Germany, on July 28, and with "White Horse" (2008) at the concert inMiami, United States, on October 19, 2024.[8]
Swift wrote and produced "Loml" withAaron Dessner, who playedsynth bass,keyboard, piano, andsynthesizer on the track. Bella Blasko and Jonathan Low recorded the song at Long Pond Studios in theHudson Valley. Swift's lead vocals were recorded by Laura Sisk atElectric Lady Studios, New York, andChristopher Rowe at Prime Recording Studios, Nashville. "Loml" wasmixed bySerban Ghenea at MixStar Studios,Virginia Beach.[5] At 4 minutes and 37 seconds long,[9] "Loml" is a piano-ledballad with a minimal production featuring Swift's vocals accompanied by piano keys,[10][11] evoking an intimate and melancholic soundscape.[12][13][14] There were comparisons of the production style of "Loml" to that on Swift's 2020 albumsFolklore andEvermore.[15][16]Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone specifically compared the piano melody to that from the title track ofEvermore.[17]
The lyrics of "Loml" recount a failed romantic relationship that was once full of promises and hopes but ended in devastation, using extensive death-related imagery of phantoms, theHoly Ghost, and graveyards.[14][18] The track begins with Swift's narrator recalling that this relationship started from "rekindled flames" that were "never quite buried". She and the love interest got back together after being distant for a while, patching up the "memories of the time [she] was away", telling themselves, "We were just kids, babe."[9][19] Swift's narrator tells herself that she sacrificed her passionate feelings in hopes of stability in this romance: "I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed."[20] In return, this romantic partner tells her that she is the "love of [his] life" multiple times.[19][21]
The more time she spends in this connection, the more false promises the partner makes; she describes herself as a "fool" and him as a "con-man" who sold her "a get-love-quick scheme",[22] and he offers hopes of marriage, children, and being with her forever.[23][24] As the song progresses, Swift's narrator realizes all the promises she was given turned out to be false. In thebridge, she details how her romantic partner got drunk one time and "shit-talked [her] under the table, talking rings and talking cradles".[20] She could not help but feel like the whole romance was an illusion, leaving her shattered: "Dancing phantoms on the terrace/ Are they second-hand embarrassed/ That I can't get out of bed, 'cause something counterfeit's dead."[9][25] Before the finalrefrain, she reflects on how quickly this romance ended: "It was legendary/ It was momentary/ It was unnecessary/ Should've let it stay buried."[24][26]
Towards the song's concluding remarks, Swift's narrator is left with intense feelings of disappointment and sadness from what happened. She describes her love interest as a "lion" with a "valiant roar" but also a "coward" that gave her a "bland goodbye".[20][27] She then comes to terms with what happened, looking back at his words: "'I'll never leave'/ 'Never mind'."[27] In the final words, she mourns what could have been: "You're the loss of my life",[23][28][29][30] a twist on the title "Loml", which is a popular colloquialism for "love of my life".[31][32][33][34]
Annie Zaleski sums up the core message as a realization that "an old flame is best left extinguished".[10] Laura Snapes ofThe Guardian viewed the lyrical style of "Loml" as "digressive [and] detailed", reminiscent of Swift's 2012 song "All Too Well".[22]Business Insider's Callie Ahlgrim drew parallels between the graveyard imagery of "Loml" with that from Swift's 2020 track "The 1"; "digging up the grave another time."[25] Alex Hopper ofAmerican Songwriter also pointed out other possible references to Swift's past songs: the fated love depicted in "Invisible String" (2020) and the difficulty of moving on in "Hits Different" (2022).[28]
"Loml" was picked as a standout fromThe Tortured Poets Department in many album reviews.[11][21][25][35][36][37] Critics acclaimed the emotional songwriting that they found resonant and affecting. Ryan Fish ofThe Hollywood Reporter called "Loml" the album's most emotional track,[30] andThe A.V. Club's andUproxx's Josh Kurp were impressed by the lyrical twist on the phrase "loml".[38][39] Ahlgrim said that "Loml" was the only song from the album that made her cry; she admired its "painful precision" in capturing a love that burns intensely then extinguishes quickly.[25]
Several critics highlighted different lyrics as their favorite.Paste, Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone, and Laura Snapes ofThe Guardian singled out the line "A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme" as a standout;[17][22] the former also picked the lyric, "And all at once, the ink bleeds."[11]The Daily Telegraph's Poppie Platt was specifically moved by the "devastating" bridge,[40] whileBeats Per Minute's John Wohlmacher lauded the final refrain; "What a valiant roar/ What a bland goodbye/ The coward claimed he was a lion", saying the track contains some of the strongest writing on the album.[36] In a less enthusiastic review by Olivia Horn ofPitchfork, "Loml" failed to deliver the emotions it was supposed to do, because there was "no hierarchy of tragic detail [...] to distill an overarching emotional truth, tending to smother rather than sting".[41]
Other reviewers also praised the production and Swift's vocals.Paste complimented "Loml" for relying on Swift's voice and "a lone piano" to deliver the lyrics effectively.[11] Wohlmacher agreed, saying the "minimal and suggestive" instrumental made room for an intricate narrative.[36]Neil McCormick inThe Daily Telegraph was moved by the sorrow and brooding soundscape and Swift's "fantastic singing" that made the emotions palpable,[42] an idea corroborated by Melissa Ruggieri ofUSA Today, who thought that her vocals contained an ache that would make listeners "feel raked over with nails".[43]Teen Vogue's Claire P. Dodson highlighted the moment that Swift's voice "nearly breaks" when she sings: "the coward claimed he was a lion."[44] In a review forExclaim!, Alex Hudson upheld "Loml" as the only track from the standard album that most evokes "an affecting breakup postmortem".[45]
"Loml" has appeared on some rankings of Swift's entire catalog. Placing the song at number 21 on his list of 75 best songs by Swift,Variety's Chris Willman said that it contained some of her best lyrics by stacking "one gut punch after another".[27] Ranking all of her 274 songs up until April 2024, Sheffield included "Loml" at the 33rd place; he said that the song "hits home" because of its ordinary and "unmelodramatic" qualities and that it peaked with a "perfectly simple epitaph": "It was legendary/ It was momentary."[17] Ahlgrim included "Loml" in her list of the 15 best breakup songs by Swift; she deemed it accomplished in portraying heartbreak with evocative details, transforming the sentiments "from emotional to harrowing".[18]
WhenThe Tortured Poets Department was released, tracks from the album occupied the top 14 of the USBillboard Hot 100; "Loml" debuted and peaked at number 12 on the chart, where Swift became the first artist to monopolize the top 14.[46][47] In Australia, the song reached number 15 on theARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29;[48][49] it wascertified platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association.[50] Elsewhere, "Loml" peaked at number 16 on theBillboard Global 200[51] and reached the top 20 in Philippines (19),[52] Malaysia (19),[53] Canada (17),[54] and New Zealand (16).[55] The song received a silvercertification from theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).[56]
Credits are adapted from theliner notes ofThe Tortured Poets Department.[5]
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[48] | 15 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[54] | 17 |
| France (SNEP)[57] | 120 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[51] | 16 |
| Greece International (IFPI)[58] | 31 |
| Malaysia International (RIM)[53] | 19 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[55] | 16 |
| Philippines (Billboard)[52] | 19 |
| Portugal (AFP)[59] | 30 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[60] | 97 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[61] | 55 |
| Swiss Streaming (Schweizer Hitparade)[62] | 37 |
| UK Streaming (OCC)[63] | 20 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[46] | 12 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[50] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
