I think the concept of the record is meant to be about things that have kept her up nights over the years. Like the rest of us, she has fears and anxieties, and she put them all out there again for us on this record.
I think it is worth noting again that Jack Antanoff was not a producer until she gave him a shot, so the idea that her music sounds like him per se is way off. I never think any Taylor Swift album or song sounds like anything but what she wants it to sound like.
I saw a few reviews that said that Midnights is not that dissimilar from Folklore and Evermore, and I think I agree. It is the same type of writing, but the cosmetics of it make it seem really different, as this in awash in synths and programmed drums instead of acoustic guitars and clean electric guitars. Traditional instruments (guitar, bass, piano, real drums) are largely MIA on the proper album. And the melodies are this one are slow growers and not immediate, like most of the songs on the two 2020 albums. Personally, I wish there would have been more of a balance, but it feels like an album in which you can immerse yourself for sure. The bonus songs definitely feel like their own entity and more traditional rather than a part of the 13-song running order of the album.
Of the bonus songs, The Great War is a favorite for me already. That is probably one of my favorite from the entire project thus far.
Not really feeling Lavender Haze or Vigilante Shit from the proper album thus far, but Anti-Hero, Mastermind and Karma stand out for me early on.