Album Review: evermore - Taylor Swift

Just a few short months after releasing her critically-acclaimed and best-selling folklore, Taylor Swift has surprised fans yet again by unexpectedly releasing her next full-length album evermore. This spiritual successor to her newest project, which was an artistic change of direction from the star’s usual country and pop offerings, continues the acoustic folk aesthetic that folklore introduced. I’m glad that Swift’s creativity seems to be at an all-time high, but I’ve found that these two albums unfortunately fall victim to the same problem many lengthy back-to-back albums have. If you were to combine their best parts, the result would be damn near perfect. Instead, both are good, but have a decent amount of “filler” - evermore more than folklore. All of that aside, this is still an enjoyable listen with a few standout tracks.

“willow” just sounds like the opening of the second act of this pair of albums. The mysterious acoustic backing pairs well with the lyrical content here, as Swift is returning to subject matter she is most well-versed in: Relationships. I enjoy this track as an opener, but not as much as I enjoyed “the 1” on folklore. “champagne problems” changes pace rather abruptly and features a piano backing, which was largely absent from the previous album. Swift demonstrates her poetic abilities through beautifully written verses, but this track lacks a liveliness that I look for in tracks like these. “gold rush” is easily my favorite song on the album, as its twinkling and ethereal sound pairs perfectly with this album’s rollout. A more uptempo bass and catchy lyrics make this an instant radio-friendly hit. Props to Jack Antonoff for the wonderful production here.

“‘tis the damn season” is a reflective track revolving around previous relationships and the holidays, which is good but not great for me. “tolerate it” is a brutally honest piano ballad from someone whose love is starting to feel unrequited, and its songwriting is simply fantastic. It’s one of the more depressing tracks on the album, but that doesn’t make it a bad listen. “no body, no crime (feat. Haim)” is an insanely fun murder mystery track with country bluegrass and western roots. I thoroughly enjoy this new fictional storytelling Taylor Swift. The Haim sisters are featured perfectly here - great track.

“happiness” fills in Swift’s coveted track seven spot, and portrays the exact opposite emotion. This song laments a failed relationship but implies that happiness may return again one day, which is reservedly optimistic. “dorothea” tells the story of a girl who left her small town to chase her Hollywood dreams, but doesn’t do anything substantive or insightful for me. I can see “coney island (feat. The National)” impressing a lot of Swift’s fans, but I honestly didn’t enjoy this track much. Another track about lost love with the Coney Island backdrop just doesn’t entice me. Matt Berringer’s vocal contributions are similar to Bon Iver’s, which is an obvious compliment, but I can’t help but leave this track disappointed.

“ivy” continues the theme of infidelity that Swift has grown more comfortable exploring recently, and its simplistic acoustic backing sets up Swift’s vocal performance nicely. “cowboy like me” is eerily reminiscent of Swift’s earliest tracks. Its country influence unfortunately bleeds into its lyricism, causing this track to become generally surface level and forgettable. I respect “long story short”, because it wasn’t a track Swift had to release. On it, she’s basically owning up to her past and making peace with it - a commendable thing to do for someone who has been involved in as much drama as she has.

“marjorie” is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to Swift’s late grandmother with poetic lyricism that continues her grandmother’s legacy. “closure” is more highly-produced and implies to me that this era may soon come to an end for Swift. This track sounds more like the music she was releasing a few years ago to me. On this track, Swift lays into an ex over the industrial-folk backing. Something doesn’t click for me on this track, though. “evermore (feat. Bon Iver) is the excellent closing title track that reflects on mental health and healing. This meditative and reflective ballad takes its time, eventually crescendoing into a beautiful final sequence. Bon Iver is the perfect vocal accompaniment to Swift’s delivery, and this track wraps up this album nicely.

While I enjoyed this album, I was left with the feeling that it could have offered a lot more both sonically and lyrically. I should have tempered my expectations after enjoying folklore as much as I did. In the end, I’ll chalk this up as another example of why artists should release sparingly and refine their projects down to the very best content, because if done correctly, great albums can be born. evermore is still an enjoyable listen, but not one I’ll return to as frequently as folklore.

Favorite tracks: “willow”, “gold rush”, “tolerate it”, “no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)”, “ivy”, “long story short”, “marjorie”, “evermore (feat. Bon Iver)”

SCORE: 6/10