We are not yet out of the woods. In a year that doesn’t feel real, Taylor Swift has gifted us with not one, but two second indie-inspired albums that transport you into a world of fantasy and folklore. The album evermore, sister to the first, comes nearly five months after TS brought cottage-core vibes to mainstream. The first album, folklore, had immense commercial success despite not catering to a popular genre or engaging in any real kind of commercial promotion. Taylor broke all the rules and was simply writing for the sake of creating art, and everybody ate. it. up.
In identical format to folklore, Swift announced that she would be dropping a studio album less than 24 hours before release. folkore ended up being one of her most successful album to date. It felt like a very natural progression for the country turned pop star to venture into an alternative/indie genre with a heavy emphasis on songwriting. With such a toned down sound and softer vocals, it seemed that people were really able to appreciate the lyrics more.
While folklore carries the weight of the warmer months, evermore has several clear nods to winter. In evermore, Taylor delves even further into the art of mystical, poetic storytelling from a third person’s point of view by drawing on themes of murder, cowboys, Hollywood dreams and, of course, heartbreak. Though many people expressed their admiration of the folklore album lyrics, there was some criticism of the songs sounding almost ‘too cohesive’ to the point that the sound production didn’t have enough variety. evermore, however, debuts with a lot of experimentation in the sound, featuring a staccato drum producing an electronic sound, banjos, an Allovers Hi-Hat generator and even police sirens.
Lead single willow rates about the same as folklore‘s lead single, cardigan. Swift does not often lead with her best single forward, so to speak. Both of these songs are high quality, but just like lead singles of the past (ME!, Look What You Made Me Do, Shake It Off, etc.), the album has so much more to offer.
Taylor took a turn for the scandalous with dropping her first ever explicit-rated album with folklore. This venture probably brought some people to realize that she doesn’t create music that specifically caters to 13-year-old girls, an aspect of her songs that has left a number of people to stray away from her music.
This new path for the country turned pop turned alternative singer will be interesting to watch. Having successfully changed genres three times, it’s almost as if she has freed herself from expectations to make the art as she pleases. She has proved time and time again that she is an artist that can translate her music into any sound with minimal promotion and mass appeal.