There's more where
folklore
On social media, Swift referred to the album as
folklore
"There was something different with folklore," she
explained
On evermore, Swift reunites with
The National
The production choices of folklore – the skittering programming and intricately textured instrumentation commonly found in Dessner's work – carry over on evermore. And the records are clearly in lyrical dialogue: On album opener "willow," over intricate acoustic guitars, Swift sings, "Show me the places where the others gave you
scars
There's a continuity in the stories told – for instance, the mud-covered truck tires of "'tis the damn season" – that harken back to Swift's earliest settings. On "marjorie," she draws on her own familial lore, paying tribute to her maternal grandmother Marjorie Finlay, herself a singer. And on "no body, no crime,"
HAIM
The folklore-evermore era has been one marked by a spirit of artistic freedom. Unbound by pop convention, and perhaps with newfound commercial flexibility – with the success of folklore as proof of surprise-release viability – Swift is able to both explore abstract turns of phrase ("gold rush") and unfurl narratives ("champagne problems"). On both albums, she's been permitted to play with sound and texture in a way that feels uncharacteristic of contemporary radio pop.
Whatever's next – whether it's a continued exploration of the folklore-evermore aesthetic, or something else altogether – a reminder: the next time Taylor Swift says, "
not a lot going on at the moment
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