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

Album Review: folklore - Taylor Swift

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Taylor Swift’s career “started”. Even upon the release of her self-titled debut album in 2006, Swift had established a fanbase and following which led that project to top the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart for over six months. Swift has never feared evolving, as each of her subsequent releases pleased fans while also experimenting with different genres and sounds. After the release of her critically-acclaimed album Lover in 2019, I expected Taylor Swift to continue her successes in the radio-friendly pop variety, emulating and releasing more songs like “ME!” and “You Need To Calm Down”. The title track from that project, “Lover”, went slightly against the grain in that regard, providing more of a ballad with a focus on songwriting and lyricism than pop appeal, which I suppose now was a sign of things to come. It was to my surprise when Swift announced on Instagram yesterday that she would be releasing her eighth studio album folklore at midnight. The title and aesthetic of the album’s rollout intrigued me, as it seemingly hinted at an indie folk sound which Swift hasn’t yet explored in her discography. On my first listen, I knew this project was different than anything she had released yet, and that Taylor Swift’s maturation as a singer-songwriter was clear. This is a great project.

The opening track, “the 1”, continues Swift’s themes of could-have-been relationships and regrets, but in a reinvented style, with a focus on creative writing and storytelling. The opening lines “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit” are an immediate indication that Swift fully recognizes and is embracing her reinvented image and sound, which is more revealing and personal than usual for her. The sentimentality of this track foreshadows the downtrodden and sometimes eery mood this project creates and gets things off to a mellow but strong start. “cardigan”, the album’s second song, wears its Lana Del Rey influence clearly and confidently on its sleeve, especially with lines like “To kiss in cars and downtown bars / Was all we needed”. I can see this being a huge radio-hit, and one I wouldn’t mind having on repeat, as it sounds like it could’ve easily fit into Del Rey’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! The next track, “the last great american dynasty”, tells the story of Rebekah Harkness in Swift’s usual contemporary style with a slight folk influence. I hear Phoebe Bridgers’ influence on this track, but that may just be because I’m still frequently listening to Punisher. The album’s first three tracks are strong, and luckily this hour-long record has few low points.

“exile (feat. Bon Iver)” pairs Justin Vernon and Taylor Swift together to create haunting harmonies in what feels like a fairly traditional breakup song. “my tears ricochet” is an interesting narrative, but the slow tempo seems to stretch this project’s runtime a bit unnecessarily. I wish this song had been workshopped a little bit more. I feel similarly about the next track “mirrorball”, which utilizes the interesting concept of likening herself to a disco ball, but in a somewhat forgettable manner. “seven” is a strong recovery, reintroducing a more uptempo folk sound which contemplates childhood and all of its difficulties and simplicities. “august” is a standout on this project for me, as this Jack Antonoff co-produced track tells a story of young summer romance. This tracks just completely captures the essence of a sun-soaked and youthful summer, including its highs and lows. “this is me trying” is another simplistic track which feels like a response to those who claim Swift tends to displace blame and responsibilities on others, finally looking inward and accepting that she is trying to be a better person and partner, too. This ambient track features one of my favorite lines on the album, which is “They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential”, which is just remarkably potent.

The following “illicit affairs” is one of the most well-written songs here, a track about infidelity enraptured in fluttering acoustic guitar accompaniments. Tracks like these impress me, as it becomes clear Swift is writing music she wants to write and flexing her songwriting abilities more so than on other projects. “invisible strings” is another highlight here, featuring the interesting concept of inherent ties between people. The plucky acoustic guitar pairs nicely to Swift’s wide-ranging vocal performance on this track. “mad woman” feels like it bites off more than it can chew, as the attempted narrative doesn’t seem to land for me. This is a track which I find could actually benefit from another minute or two of fleshed-out storytelling.

“epiphany” is different than any track Swift has released in her discography to my knowledge. As this project was written and recorded in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, this song takes on a gravity and heaviness, especially in its second verse. By juxtaposing and comparing military soldiers and medical workers, Swift commends the bravery required by both to do their valiant jobs well. “Betty” is one of the most traditional folk songs on this album, using harmonica and descending guitars to complete the “cardigan” / “august” / “betty” narrative this album creates, which ends up utilizing a strong feminist outlook and conclusion. “peace” is an introspective contemplation on growing older, continuing this album’s tendency to choose narrative over radio-appeal. “hoax” is a somewhat depressing closing track, but that isn’t to say it isn’t impressive lyrically and sonically, as Swift reflects on the toxicity of a relationship she can’t bring herself to leave, with lines like “Don’t want no other shade of blue but you / No other sadness in the world would do”, which is heartbreakingly clever and raw during the circumstances we find ourselves in, which is a generally sad world.

I was thoroughly impressed and surprised by the direction Taylor Swift took with this album. She has unabashedly and confidently rebranded her sound and image, now appearing more introspective, emotionally revealing, and mature than ever. This project is basically my ideal Taylor Swift album, which I very much enjoyed. I hope that her sound continues to evolve, because if she continues to release music on this level of quality, we’re all in for a treat. Thanks for reading.

Favorite tracks: “cardigan”, “the last great american dynasty”, “seven”, “august”, “illicit affairs”, “invisible string”, “epiphany”, “betty”, “hoax”

SCORE: 7/10