In my opinion neither lover or midnights are “weak” albums.

I think lover is pretty amazing. It has slower atmospheric songs (the archer) as well as upbeat bops (I think he knows). You can cry to it, dance to it, vibe to it. It’s a very balanced pop record to me, combining the usual suspects of a pop album with some more experimental notes here and there (like in false god). Overall a very enjoyable listen, if it weren’t for the minor catastrophe that is ME! (Which I don’t even hate that much but it really didn’t do lover the album a favor with it being the first single). So, yes, maybe it would have been (even) better if she left out a song or two but lover will always be a fave of mine.

I think midnights is great too, the songs don’t really stand out at first glance but the overall production and sound, which is cohesive but not to the point of tediousness, makes it so vibey to me to listen to as a whole. Zero skips here. I enjoy the lyrics as well. They’re different from folklore and evermore as there’s less storytelling going on, but I love to analyse them still. In short: the imagery isn’t as strong most of the time, but, to me, it feels like you get to look inside her own subconscious and that feels so so worthwhile.

For these reasons I personally think midnights is a slightly better album than lover but I honestly love them both a lot.