Taylor Swift’s new album is a story-telling masterpiece.
Less than a year after dropping her radio friendly, bubble-gum pop (and does it go without saying?) record breaking album Lover, Taylor Swift decided to pull a move that not a single person saw coming and announce a surprise alternative album the day before it was due to be released. And thus, less than 24 hours later, Folklore was released to the world.
​
Perhaps the biggest surprise itself was not the new album, but the raw, intricate intimacy of the lyrics and songs, something some might argue Swift has not been able to do since her entirely self-written album Speak Now released in 2010. This is Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album and sees her try something she has never done before: the less is more approach. At 30, Swift is finally learning to focus on what she does best -lyrics.
​
This album provides a stark contrast to any work she has ever done before. Whilst Lover is most definitely a summer album that one might listen to on the way to a beach, Folklore is very much winter, despite the many summer lyrical references. Perhaps to get the best out of it, one should listen at dusk in a cabin in the woods, wrapped in a cosy blanket and with the accompanying sound of rain pattering.
Cover art for Swift’s 8th studio album, folklore
Unlike past albums such as Red, where Swift herself was unsure of the genre of the album, the songs on Folklore all fit together in one sonically cohesive journey. The downside to this though, is that until you really get familiar with the album, many of the songs can sound quite similar.
​
Vocally, this could easily be her most ambitious album yet. With the exception of the 1 , the talk singing that was so prominent in many of her most successful pop singles are gone, and replaced with melodies and vocal twists and dives.
​
Without all the backing vocals and strong beats, the true victor of her vocals shine through as we listen to her hit notes she has never even attempted before, showcasing a wide range of vocals and styles one would never imagine possible from pop-princess Taylor Swift.
The song seven, rumoured to be about one of Swift’s childhood friends who had an unhappy time at home, contains the best vocals the public will have ever heard from her, and the complexities and different interpretations of the lyrics perhaps make it the best song the public will have ever heard from her also. The simplicity of just her voice and a piano is gentle but not boring, something she has struggled to achieve on past albums.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the album though, is her ability to tell the story of a love triangle from three different points of view, each as emotionally wild and heart-breaking as the next. You can listen to August, Betty and Cardigan in any order to experience this.
​
Swift’s choice to not capitalise any of the letters and words on the track list echoes the minimalistic feel Folklore gives off - gone are the synthesisers and trumpets that boosted her to the pinnacle of her pop career. Instead, the album is full of ballads, emotion and story-telling lyrics. She could not have chosen a better name to represent the album.
​
At 16 songs, the album is long, but there are some songs that really stand out.
​
In the 1 Swift opens the album by telling us “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit.” It is a strange decision to put this song first as this is potentially the least deep lyric on there, and with a strong beat - this song is possibly the only one that seems like it should belong on one of her earlier pop albums, such as 1989. My guess is, if this is your favourite song on the new release, you much prefer “pop Taylor”.
​
Cardigan is the second song on the album and is hauntingly beautiful. The metaphor of the Cardigan is basic but effective, just like the rhythm of the song. It is clear why Swift chose to release this one as a single - it is catchy but not repetitive. It is devastatingly sad, but on another listen it is tinged with optimism and full of love. She repeats the statement “when you are young they assume you know nothing” many times throughout, and at the end sings “I knew everything when I was young”- perhaps a reference to her being dissected by the media as she grew up in the spotlight, carrying the heavy burden of “role model” and “idol” from a very young age.
​
In my tears ricochet Taylor tells us how she “got wasted like all my potential” and that “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace.” The sharpness of the lyrics and the deeply broken tone of her voice could have even those in the happiest and most secure of relationships questioning everything they thought they knew about their partner.
​
Many of the songs are so sad and melancholic that they left fans worried about the state of her relationship with her boyfriend of nearly four years, Joe Alwyn. Taylor Swift explained though that the majority of the songs are based on the experiences of those around her- much like folk stories, or folklore if you will. The song invisible string which cleverly incorporates the use of the sounds of plucking strings, is one of the few ones inspired by her own life and can perhaps reassure fans as she references an east Asian folk myth about a thread of fate tying two soulmates together. Much like the strings she sings about, this song sounds incredibly delicate. It also shows her personal growth, maturity and acceptance as she sings “cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents.”
​
Mad Woman is a more mature, and frankly better, version of her angsty pop hits Look what you made me do and Blank space where she connects the idea of a delusional woman created by the media and tabloids to her personal life. Aaron Dessner cowrote and produced this, and the song is charged and tense, but at the same time the lyrics and tone of voice seem rather matter of fact and permanent - she has said what she wanted to say here and doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. It is an argument won, a last word had.
​
Her growth, both sonically and as a person, is clear in this album and could easily be some of her best work. Swift has always said that every album represents a chapter in her life, and this chapter appears to be full of acceptance. It seems a dive back to her country and alternative roots was something Swift really needed.