Swift's fourth studio album, Red, was released on October 22, 2012. She wrote nine of the album's sixteen songs alone. Nathan Chapman served as the album's lead producer but Jeff Bhasker, Butch Walker, Jacknife Lee, Dann Huff and Shellback also produced individual tracks. Red examines Swift's attraction to drama-filled relationships. She believes that, since writing the record, such relationships no longer appeal to her. Musically, while there is some experimentation with "slick, electronic beats”, “the pop sheen is limited to a handful of tracks sprinkled among more recognisably Swiftian fare." Rolling Stone enjoyed "watching Swift find her pony-footing on Great Songwriter Mountain. Her self-discovery project is one of the best stories in pop." The Guardian described Swift as a "Brünnhilde of a rockstar" and characterized Red as "another chapter in one of the finest fantasies pop music has ever constructed.” USA Today felt that the "engaging" record saw Swift "write ever-more convincingly – and wittily and painfully – about the messy emotions of a young twenty something nearing the end of her transition from girl to woman.” The LA Times noted the exploration of "more nuanced relationship issues" on "an unapologetically big pop record that opens new sonic vistas for her."