It came as a surprise that Taylor Swift released her 8th studio album, folklore. Announced the 23rd of July, it was released the following day with no warning. Swift herself has stated that she ‘wrote and recorded this music in isolation’. It’s now a couple of months after its release, and with the release of folklore: the long pond studio sessions on Disney+, I think we need to have a look at the album again. With enough time to gather my thoughts, I’m now confident in saying that folklore might be Swift’s best album to date.
We are introduced to folklore with the song ‘the 1’. With lines such as ‘I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit’, I can’t help but be reminded of the opening track of Lover, ‘I Forgot That You Existed’. Both songs have a sense that Swift have moved on. However, that is where the similarities stop. While ‘I Forgot That You Existed’ had playful pop instrumentals, ‘the 1’ is dominated by piano, as is rest of the album.
Angry women
The final single to be released from the album Lover was ‘The Man’, and Swift is certainly not done being angry. This is shown in ‘the last great American dynasty’, where Swift tells the story of Rebecca, who used to live in Holiday House (now owned by Swift herself). The society blames Rebecca for the death of her husband, saying ‘it must have been her fault his heart gave out’. They go on to blame her for living her life how she wants to. Swift draws a parallel to her own life, reflecting on how she has been talked about in the past.
Swift goes on to talk of similar topics in ‘mad woman’. Here, she explores how women are labelled as ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ when showing certain behaviour, commenting on how unfair it is. Stating ‘now I breathe flames each time I talk’, she notes that the public reaction has made her more hostile. The piano and dark vocals fit the tone of the song perfectly.
Love triangle
Many people have already written about the story of the love triangle on folklore. ‘Cardigan’ is the first of these three songs, the others being ‘betty’ and ‘august’.
Let’s break the story down. Chronologically, we start with ‘august’. Told from the perspective of who among fans is called August, the song tells the story of a summer love that ended too quickly. The bridge is incredible, and the line ‘back when we were still changing for the better’ is perfect for screaming along to while driving.
Next song in the story is ‘betty’, which Swift performed at the American Music Awards 2020. Here, we hear from James, who had a ‘summer fling’ with the girl in august, but actually likes Betty. Betty hears about this summer fling from Inez. To make it up to her, James shows up at her party to apologise. Although James is definitely in the wrong, I can’t help but sympathise with him. The song includes harmonica and a key change in the last chorus, showing Swift’s country roots. What’s not to love?
Finally, we reach ‘cardigan’, the first, and so far, only single from folklore. With it came a music video, released at the same time as the album, which delivers stunning visuals with a fairy-tale-like narrative. The song is referenced in ‘betty’, but it is only in this song, told by Betty from a point in time later than the two other songs, that we learn that James’ plan worked.
Hidden gems
I could go on about the detailed writing that’s present on folklore. However, I’ll quickly mention some absolute gems on the album.
‘Excile’ has the only feature on the entire album. Bon Iver sings as the other partner in a failed relationship. The miscommunication is represented in the bridge, where Swift and Iver’s voices cross and blend, contradicting each other’s’ words, before finally coming together in the chorus.
‘Epiphany’ is an incredibly beautiful song, accompanied by piano and strings. However, Swift’s vocals are the focus of the song. First verse talks of a wounded soldier, who is bleeding out, stating that this is ‘something med school did not cover’. This is continued in the second verse, which mentions a woman going through surgery but suffers from complications. Swift’s ability to write from the perspective of someone else is put on display, and she does so perfectly.
Folklore is a beautiful album. It is dominated by the piano and has a somewhat indie sound. Swift does not just tell her own stories, but also stories from both real and fictional characters, showing her talent as a writer. As she sings in ‘seven’, the songs are ‘passed down like folksongs’. I can only say she passed on these stories beautifully.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdFUoZzCI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orXAg5dIMa8