Taylor Swift has just dropped her new single “Lover” ahead of the release of her album of the same name on 23 October.

The album’s lead single “Me!” was met with a rather frosty reception by critics, who labelled it “bubble-gum” and claimed it was some of her weakest writing to date. Second single “You Need to Calm Down”, didn’t fare much better, and was accused of lacking vulnerability.

However, it appears with “Lover”, Swift may have finally cracked it.

Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Show all 6 1 /6 Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down For her opening look, Swift rises from a very millennial-looking bedroom in a caravan, complete with bubblegum pink wallpaper and a matching sheer curtain. The singer wears a silky nude dressing gown complete with red lace trim, matching lingerie and scarlet lipstick. She also wears a pink silk eye mask with the words "calm down" embroidered in gold. Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down In a very obvious reference to the cult early noughties film, Legally Blonde, Swift wears a furry fuchsia coat over a pastel pink bandeau bikini. While holding what appears to be a Cosmopolitan cocktail, the singer wears diamante heart-shaped earrings with cat-eye sunglasses. Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down This look appears to be a direct reference to Katy Perry, who is known for sporting her fair share of colourful wigs on stage. Swift's is a blended trio of cobalt blue, purple and rosy pink. The full look consists of luminously shiny gold shorts, a deep purple satin western shirt, which she has tied up around her waist, and cowboy boots. Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down In her penultimate look, Swift is filmed reclining on a sunlounger that matches the yolk yellow of her retro high-waisted bikini. Also matching are her tinted heart-shaped shades. Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down For her grande finale, Swift potters around wearing a fries costume while those in the background are immersed in a cake fight behind her. She looks lost until she stumbles across her partner in crime, Katy Perry, who is dressed as a hamburger. Taylor Swift’s best looks in You Need to Calm Down music video Taylor Swift x You Need to Calm Down The two singers/American culinary staples come together in a final friendly embrace to show that all is peaceful and harmonious in the worlds of Swift and Perry. Finally.

Writing in The Telegraph, Alice Vincent proclaimed the single “swooning, playful, codified to the hilt and steeped in romance,” and went on to describe it as “practically made for first dances.”

Meanwhile, Raisa Bruna wrote in Time: “Lover is something different than the bright singalong pop that has marked the two singles. It’s certainly catchy, but it treads a more acoustic, folksy path. You can even hear a tambourine. It’s a laid-back love song that draws on her particular style of highly specific storytelling.”

Louise Griffin claimed in the Metro Swift had “gone back to her roots”, and added that it’s a “sweet, breathless, straight-up love song.”

The single also received a positive write-up in Billboard, where Bonnie Stiernberg labelled it “an old-school ballad with a booming snare, keys and a wholesome Sixties vibe.”

Watch the video for “Lover”​ below: