This summer is no longer cruel now that Taylor Swift has released her brand-new eighth studio-album, folklore.
Kickstarting this new Taylor Swift era with the lead-single ‘Cardigan’, it’s a tune about how sometimes young love can be permanently etched in our memories. The music video was written and directed by Swift herself, showcasing her moving through places playing the piano, and shot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first track ‘the 1’ is an insightful tune to introduce listeners into this new era. It’s an empowering reminiscing song pulling on heartstrings with an emotional impact about lost love in her ‘roaring twenties’.
‘the last great american dynasty’ has an evoking, glitchy production with ear-worm hooks. It tells a story about a woman’s life falling apart around her with a nod to Bob Dylan’s lengthy verses, a retelling of the life of Rebekah West Harkness who used to own the Rhode Island home Swift owns now.
‘exile’ is the only feature on the album accompanied by a musical collaboration with Bon Iver. Accompanied by a piano and sung whismely, it’s a perfect addition to the record painting the image of betrayal before their harmonies wonderfully collide with a purposeful mood indicating deeper feeling than the heart-wrenching pain of infidelity.
‘my tears ricochet’ feels like part two of ‘Clean’ with twinkling instrumentals and layered vocals. It’s a memorable moment when Swift whispers, “and if I’m dead to you why are you at the wake?”
‘mirrorball’ is a dreamlike, sad relatable track that finds Swift singing, “I can change everything about me to fit in,” over a shimmering pedal beat.
On ‘seven’ Swift sings, “in the weeds before I learned civility, I used to scream ferociously any time I wanted,” about childhood rituals with rhythmic verses pleading against the instrumental of an acoustic guitar and filigrees of a violin.
‘august’ is a tender yet beautifully relatable track as Swift works through memories about a love that was never really hers. She sings, “But I can see us lost in the memory / August slipped away into a moment in time / 'Cause it was never mine / And I can see us twisted in bedsheets / August sipped away like a bottle of wine / 'Cause you were never mine.”
‘this is me trying’ feels like Swift is emerging from trauma drowning in loneliness as she’s faced with her demons she sings in a stripped-back instrumental and wishful tone that she’s finding healing in a slam-like poetry mood.
‘illicit affairs’ sees Swift singing, “look at this idiotic fool that you made me,” in despair, going on to sing, “you taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else / And you know damn well / For you I would ruin myself.”
‘invisible strings’ discusses the thing that ties two people together, Swift sings, “Time, wondrous time / Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies / And it's cool / Baby, with me / And isn't it just so pretty to think / All along there was some / Invisible string / Tying you to me?”
‘mad woman’ finds Swift discussing double standards where she discusses how a female in today’s society might be portrayed as overemotional, whereas she’s furious and righteous during this track. With gleeful revenge on the people who victimised her, she sings, “What did you think I’d say to that / Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? / They strike to kill / And you know I will.” She brings the story forward, “Now I breathe flames each time I talk / My cannons all firing at your yacht / They say ‘move on’ / But you know I won’t / women like hunting witches, too,” she gracefully delivers with a strong message to stand up for herself.
‘epiphany’ is a track about when her grandfather landed at Guadalcanal during WWII, with elegant melodies, beautiful lyricism, and wonderful production. The track offers hope in searching for peace in their dreams while living in a chaotic and violent world. Swift finishes the song, singing, “Only twenty minutes to sleep / But you dream of some epiphany / Just one single glimpse of relief / To make some sense of what you've seen.”
‘betty’ picks up on the aftermath of ‘august’ describing a summer love that wasn’t going to make it. Taking a feminist approach, the song is from the point of view of a boy who can’t own his wrongdoings, while the girl grows from the situation. There’s a sense of nostalgia with reminiscent instrumentals and production that give nod to her earlier work on Fearless, and Speak Now, with the sense of naïve present.
‘peace’ is a beautifully crafted tune describing her maturity and life, praising her significant other, and reminiscing about childhood. She wonders if the chaotic public life she lives would disturb their life, Swift sings, “But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm / If your cascade, ocean wave blues come / All these people think love's for show / But I would die for you in secret / The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me / Would it be enough if I could never give you peace.”
‘Hoax’ offers a moment of clarity, Swift sings, “Stood on the cliffside screaming, ‘Give me a reason’ / Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in / Don't want no other shade of blue but you / No other sadness in the world would do,” closing out the album with a promise.
It’s clear to see this is a mature album for Swift as she realises she’s grown-up compared to her previous records. It’s a perfect release during a time when things in the world are uncertain, and she is able to bring some sort of comfort to her listeners.
It’s brilliant to see there are different ways Swift can reinvent herself, change her sound, but remain the same brilliant artist out there. It’s a triumph release with melancholy and wistful tastes of extraordinary storytelling. On this record, her vocal performance is her best to date.
Each track was written with self-awareness, performed with emotional delivery, and overall created with a richness that paid off in the end. Rather than stripping songs down, she builds them up aligning with her effortless storytelling.
Swift discusses love, loss, desire, friendship, and need for human connection all in an emotional way that showcases her artistic skills with her incredible songwriting abilities. It clearly shows the soul-searching adventure she went on during this creation triggering regrets, mistakes, and memories all fragmented in a 16-track ambitious, breathtaking, emotional album paid off.
folklore, has elements of electronica, electro-folk, indie-pop sensibilities. This new project was written and recorded during the lockdown due to COVID-19. Swift said, “in isolation, my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsey they deserve.” It was produced by Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, and Taylor Swift.
Words by Danielle Holian