In the depths of isolation, instead of curling up like the rest of the world, Taylor Swift concocted a plethora of stories to bring listeners together with her surprise seventh studio album, folklore. Always one to reinvent herself, Swift tries her hand at indie- her first experiment in this genre. At times, it is excellent, and at times, it falls short, but neither seem to matter since the genius of Swift’s storytelling brings an air of nostalgia that is welcomed with open arms in stressful times.
The album, built around folklore stories lacks cohesion and is reflective of the isolated world in which it was written. The songs are fragmented, going back and forth between stories that are personal to Swift and those that are completely outside of herself, leaving listeners scrambling with the lingering question of, “what is real?” The album doesn’t run smoothly after hitting play at the top of track one, which is a bold departure for Swift who builds albums around a clear idea. However, as noted in her statement about the album, these stories “flowed like a stream of consciousness” while she was writing, and a clear, linear story was not the intention.
What the album lacks in cohesion is made up for in specific, stellar moments. “exile,” Swift’s collaborative track with Bon Iver brings listeners into another dimension through orchestrations that build throughout the song and a dialogue between the artists in a way that feels foreign during the pandemic. The song distinguishes itself with its subtly placed lyrics. One phrase starts with, “I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending,” and then goes on to discuss the harshness and conflict that love gone wrong can bring, ending with “I think I’ve seen this film before, so I’m leaving out the side door.” Structurally, these lyrics bring peace, but also end with a striking physicality of quickly slipping out of a space that no longer suits you. These lyrics do not immediately stand out amongst the spectacle of the song, but linger in the mind long after listening.
“august” is another standout on the album, with Swift encapsulating both the physical feeling of the loss of summer with the loss of love, noting, “I can see us twisting in bedsheets, August slipped away like a bottle of wine, because you were never mine.” She compares the release and whimsy that love brings into life to the season of summer, and notes the loss of spontaneity that occurs when both are lost. The song is melocholic in the way that the orange August skies are, as we grieve what is lost while it is still there in front of us.
Though Swift lays her heart bare in certain moments, she contrasts them with a continual transfer of the narrative onto a character. It almost seems like a defense, as her own personal feelings are intertwined in this web of greater stories, offering her protection as she reveals these deep truths. Songs like “exile “and “august” are contrasted with tracks like “the last great american dynasty”, which tells the autobiographical story of Rececca Harkness, the past owner of Swift’s summer home in Rhode Island. It seems odd to place this kind of textbook telling of a song in an album that has these striking emotional moments, which is why the album doesn’t shine as a whole. Similarly, in “betty” we get a sound reminiscent of a Fearless era Taylor, but this welcome nostalgia is quickly met with a lack of the personal, as listeners try to decipher a love story between teens that was just introduced in this album. The voices aren’t familiar, and the nostalgia is not enough to keep returning to the track. Though we get glimpses of Swift, listeners are often left with new narrators that come as quickly as they go, making this album lack the type of relevance that her past work has, because it feels impersonal.
Despite its faults, Swift’s album brings listeners into this season that we are all trying to naviagate. The songs are a welcome change after months of blandness, and because of this, they will weave their way into listeners’ hearts. Fans have had anthems for innocent high school love, breakups, redemption, perception and true love as they have grown with Swift, and it only seems right that she would narrate the chaos of 2020 into an album about imperfect characters and unresolved plots.