Taylor Swift is probably the only artist who can write and release a chart-topping, surprise album in quarantine.
Her eighth studio album, folklore, was announced on July 23 for a next-day release, shocking her millions of fans around the world. It came just eleven months after her 2019 album Lover, and the summer her “Loverfest” tour was scheduled to begin until it was postponed due to COVID-19.
Listeners can appreciate the mature, piano-filled songs and poignant lyrics across folklore’s entire track list. It resembles the indie-folk essence of Safe and Sound, her 2012 song that was featured on the Hunger Games soundtrack. In fact, the album is reminiscent of Taylor’s earlier music and the storytelling talent that she is best known for. For folklore, Swift traded in her brand of pop for more ethereal songs, resembling the sound of Joni Mitchell.
folklore is a cohesive album consisting of tales that Swift brings to life with divine vocals and raw instrumentation. It’s a powerful array of wistfulness, regret, and nostalgia. Produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, and Swift herself, this record is T. Swift’s songwriting at its most stripped down.
“I found myself not only writing my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve never met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t,” Swift told Billboard.
There’s “The Last Great American Dynasty,” about the Rhode Island house she purchased in 2013 and the stories about its famous past homeowner that echoed from its walls, like throwing parties and dying her neighbor’s dog green.
Another standout track is “Exile;” a melancholic call-and-response duet with Bon Iver, describing two people meeting after their relationship has ended. Bon Iver’s deep baritone is a fitting compliment to Swift’s disheartened vocals, and the lyrics mirror the other’s thoughts.
The bonus track, “The Lakes,” has lyrics drawn from 19th century poet William Wordsworth. Here, she sings the line, “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die.” She also does a little Wordsworths wordplay with her lyrics, “Tell me what are my words worth.”
But my favorite part of the album is the “Teenage Love Triangle” that consists of three songs, each written in the perspective of a different high school student tangled in a heart-wrenching romance and experiencing the turmoil of young love—a familiar theme in Swift’s discography.
This trilogy of songs includes “Cardigan,” the album’s lead single and an emotional ballad about wanting someone back even though they’ve betrayed you, followed by “August,” a wistful tune about a concluding summer romance and hoping you’ll see them again, and lastly, “Betty,” which takes a dip into Taylor’s country roots with its guitar-driven sound and a harmonica that graces the intro.
Swift also surprised fans and record store owners alike by shipping boxes of autographed folklore CDs to several record stores across the U.S. Many stores were sold out within an hour of posting it to their social media.
Her new album is an emotional rollercoaster, and exactly what we needed to get us through quarantine. The album is quintessential Taylor Swift, no different from the genius lyricism found throughout her entire discography.
It’s an album she “poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into,” as she described on a July 23 Instagram post.
folklore presents the perfect set of songs to listen to throughout the upcoming fall months, with a blanket and a steaming hot cup of tea, when the chilly weather seeps in and the rain falls outside your window.
IMAGE TAKEN from Medium
