72 hours ago, I had no idea this album was even coming. Now I can't imagine listening to anything else.
Thursday morning, I was doing my usual pre-work ritual of scrolling reddit while avoiding the strenuous commute from my bedroom to the living room (remote work is the best lol) when I saw the post on the Taylor Swift sub-"New studio album!" I thought this was a joke at first, but it became increasingly clear that it wasn't. A new album was dropping at midnight, as was the video of the first single "cardigan", a stark departure from the months-long rollout we Swifties expect. The black and white aesthetics and the title "folklore" promised a return to her roots.
I had to work but after that I was mostly just a mess of anticipation until midnight, when I watched the gorgeous video for "cardigan", a song that paints a vivid picture of young love and heartbreak. It's honestly hard for me to get to the end without crying. As an aside, she looks younger in this video than she does in the overly-made-up videos from her actual adolescence.
So then I go to the actual album. It's just absolute perfection from start to finish. Last year, after the release of "Lover", an album with some absolute gems buried underneath its crappy singles, I remember thinking she should just stop trying to top the pop charts, go hide in a cabin in the woods, write whatever she wants, and wow us in two years. Naturally, I couldn't predict we'd be hit by a pandemic that ruined everyone's plans (including hers-I firmly believe she would've released "Cruel Summer" as a single in May had we not ended up having a worldwide cruel summer instead), nor that she would end up with something this good as a result. It's gone beyond my "wildest dreams" (sorry not sorry).
In one sense, it doesn't feel like a Taylor Swift album. There's no pop single to distract people and make me sound crazy when I try to insist she's actually talented. There's no months-long rollout with aggravating clues for the fandom to decipher (though she did drop a selfie on 4/27 that said "not a lot going on at the moment". She released the album on 7/24). It doesn't have that diary-style writing that make people hunt for clues as to who she wrote what about (though I have long suspected that this is kind of silly, as I imagine her songs are actually a blend of experiences that aren't only about one person or situation). It's less autobiographical and more cinematic, an ethereal collection of stories. She actually curses enough that there's an explicit and clean version (I was really annoyed to discover that I'd accidentally downloaded the clean version. I promptly deleted it, as I no longer want to live in a world where I can't hear Taylor Swift say "f*** you forever").
But in another sense, it's clearly a Taylor Swift album. I find echoes of previous songs throughout this-"Starlight" and "The Lucky One" in "The Last Great American Dynasty", "The Last Time" (her duet with Garry Lightbody from Snow Patrol) in the somehow-even-better "exile" with Bon Iver, even "Look What You Made Me Do" in "Mad Woman". She's always been a storyteller, and finally she's honed her best lyrical instincts and avoided the missteps (if I had to pick a least favorite track, it might be "mirrorball", but now that's even growing on me so I have no clue how to rank these). The style might be different for her, and yet the transition seems to make perfect sense.
I could ramble on, but for now, I think I'll finish by dropping my favorite line from each song.
the 1-"In my defense I have none/For digging up the grave another time" (*death glares at my own project "exorcism of a love that never was" *)
cardigan-"i knew you, leaving like a father, running like water" (this is when the waterworks start)
the last great american dynasty-"and in a feud with her neighbor, she stole his dog and dyed it key lime green" (this song is based off a real person, and according to Rolling Stone, it was actually a cat-https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rebekah-harkness-taylor-swift-1033497/)
exile-"I can see you staring honey, like he's just your understudy, like you'd get your knuckles bloody for me".
my tears ricochet-"I didn't have it in myself to go with grace"
mirrorball-"and I'm still a believer, but i don't know why" (I think I didn't like this song as much as first because the way she says "tallest tiptoes" makes it sound like she's saying "toilet's tiptoes" at first listen, lol)
seven-"before i learned civility/I used to scream ferociously" (this makes me think of my lost childhood friends and is a major tearjerker)
august-"remember when I pulled up and said 'get in the car' and I cancelled my plans just in case you'd call, back when I was living for the hope of it all" (this song is also basically "exorcism of a love that never was" in a song)
this is me trying-"they said all my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential" (my 20s in a couplet, basically)
illicit affairs-"don't call me kid, don't call me baby, look at this godforsaken mess that you made me"
invisible string-"bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA" (nice callback there, Taylor)
mad woman-"do you see my face in your neighbor's lawn? Does she smile, or does she mouth "f*** you forever?"
epiphany-"holding hands in plastic now, doc I think she's crashing out" (if this song about soldiers and doctors on the front lines doesn't make you cry, I have every right to question your humanity. 5/5 tissue boxes).
betty-"I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything, but I know I miss you"
peace-"all these people think love's for show, but I would die for you in secret"
hoax-"your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in"
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