Ken Tucker

Carsie Blanton sings a protest anthem in "After the Revolution." Sabrina Carpenter channels a disco party with her catchy hit "Espresso." "Life Is," by Jessica Pratt, is an immediate, sweeping drama.

Though Swift performs a range of experience and emotions, the music on her 11th album feels thin and is often in service of lyrics that could have used a red pencil.

While Beyoncé's new album suggests the country-music industry's problematic history of excluding Black artists, the collection as a whole is as much a celebration as it is a critique.