Folklore - A Magically Incredible Album from Taylor Swift
Ah, Taylor Swift. Clearly a name that I don’t need to have any form of introduction behind, because regardless if you are a fan of her music or not, she’s literally everywhere these days and everyone has a lot to say about their stances on her. She’s either referred as an goddess came down to the earth and will save the world, or a creation from satan set destroyed out the living soul and heart of our youth. Frankly, while I do get both sides of the argument (and as a massive Swift fan, I’m fine with people liking or not liking her and her music), hearing the constant screaming on both sides has been really f-in annoying that I want both sides to shut up and let me enjoy this woman’s music in peace. It’s even become more prominent with the release of Swift’s recent album The Tortured Poets Department and spawning tons of mixed reactions from critics and fans alike and I wanted to find ways to shut both sides up so I can listen to and enjoyed the album without either side saying it’s the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever, and I did enjoyed that album despite it’s flaws. But all of that ranting will be saved for another day. Maybe…
But for now, I want to take you back to a time where Taylor Swift united everyone, critics, swifties, and non fans alike when she released an album so good that not only received Taylor’s 3d Album of the Year win at the Grammys (which is well deserved btw), but also what many considered the album that sparked into the crazy Taymaina we’re in today. Of course I’m talking about her 8th studio album, Folklore, and I’m here to report that after 4 years, this album is still indeed a masterpiece and if it hadn’t been for Red, I would have no doubt called this the finest album from Miss.Swift. But what makes it so good and why it’s an album that even non Swift fans will admit it’s so good? Let’s find out.
For starters, this was a big leap for Taylor Swift and her songwriting. Now one of the things people often praise about Taylor Swift as an music artist is her songwriting and making her songs feel authentic, real, raw, and personal to grab the listener’s attention in not only a grasp on the state of mind with her life when she writes the song, but also allowing the listener to draw similar experiences to their own lives as well, and she demonstrates so many of her best songwriting skills in Folklore and even more than expected. Not only do the songs on this record provide the raw authenticity in Taylor’s lyricism, but they also showcases of Taylor’s ability to step back from the narrative and talk about different experiences that she may have not experienced herself but want to give her stance on it presented in songs like The Last Great American Dynasty and the love triangle trilogy (consisting of Cardigan, August, and Betty). This method of songwriting allows us to see a more creative side of Taylor that we haven’t seen too much of up to this point in her career by being less about her personal life (tho there’s a few songs on here you can draw some connections to it such as Mirrorball or Hoax), and more of showing a stage where she can write outside of that personal life bubble that is shown in her albums that came before (and it’s not a diss to those personal life songs she has written in the past, many of which are some of the best songs in her discography), and it payed off beautifully.
Folklore was also a big stepping stone in terms of the way the songs were produced. Not only did Taylor brought on her long time producing and songwriting partner Jack Antonoff for this album, but she also brought on Aaron Dessner from The National to be on this album as a producing and songwriting partner as well, and much like the songwriting, the production on this record is definitely amongst the best in any Taylor Swift album. Gone (mostly) the more pop centric synths and instrumentation that dominated her pervious pop records (1989, Reputation, and Lover), and was traded in for a more indie inspired like sound that puts more emphasis on the acoustic soundings of the guitar, drums, and pianos, and thus allows for the folk and mystical tone and vibe on the songs feel alive and feel authentic. Plus the way Taylor, Jack, and Aaron collabed on this album in terms of their creative voices in terms of how the production, the writing and the flow of each song went about (along with constantly challenging themselves artistically) is so immensely strong and works like a tightly put together package that is constant in tone and overall mood in a way that few albums could pull off.
The songs themselves are so good. There’s not a single bad or mid track on this record. They all ranged from good to all time greats in Taylor’s entire discography, and talking about these songs would feel like I’m doing a disservice to the brilliance of them and how each of them beautifully explored themes of isolation, love, connection, regret, anger, and reflection. But I will try my best.
The album starts off with a bang with The 1. As the song perfectly sets the tone and vibe the album wants to take us with its emphasis on pianos, and it soothing drums/guitar strings, and the lyrics take us on the journey of remembering of a lost relationship and catching up with them (“I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit”) and thinking about the things they could have done if they were together (“It would have been fun, if you could have been the 1”). The opening right there gives us the perfect gateway into the way this album will turn out and present us something we’re familiar with Taylor’s music and songwriting but presented and told in a new and exciting way.
We then follow that up with the album’s lead single, Cardigan, aka the first installment of the album’s love triangle trilogy consisting a love triangle between James, Augustine, and Betty as Taylor herself refers to it as such. The song is taken from the perspective of Betty, as she felt she was betrayed and hurt by James’s actions and affection towards Augustine, because of the way he treats her is similar to the way he treated Betty and the memories/scars that came from it (“To kiss in cars and downtown bars was all we needed. You drew stars around my scars, but now I'm bleedin”). This song shows Taylor’s brilliance of creating the feeling of heartbreak and lingering of a lost lover so well but put in the perspective of a character she created, and it’s done brilliantly through Taylor’s vocal delivery and the instrumentation feeling so mystical yet cut throating at the same time.
The Last Great American Dynasty is such a fun song to listen to. Not only in the sense of having the tone and production being more fun and upbeat than tracks before, but also in the way Taylor invites the listener to the story of Rebekah Harkness and the way people around her viewed her as someone who would go out, have parties, and messing around with her husband (“She had a marvelous time, ruining everything”). But the interesting thing about this track is the framing device she played around with this song, with the first half focusing on Rebekah Harkness and the way she went about her lifestyle, and the second half of the song focusing more on Taylor herself and the lifestyle she had being resembled to Rebeakh, and even buying the house she had (“I had a marvelous time, ruining everything”). It’s a great commentary on the way we view celebrities and the lifestyle they present in public, while also being a really fun song to jam to as well.
Now Exile on the other hand, oh boy it’s so devastating in the best way possible. Taylor and Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) complaint each other so beautifully, as their vocals and the emphasis on the depressing piano rifts gives the song so much depth and emotional gravitas towards this song on reflecting about a relationship that fell out for different reasons and the different views they have towards it. With the guy wanting to rekindle that relationship with the feelings he still has for her (“Holdin' all this love out here in the hall”), and the girl trying to move on from it with the new lover in her life (“I think I've seen this film before. So I'm leaving out the side door”), and the way the two fight for their respective views on love and how the signs from their perspective have been shown clearly to them, but there’s no rekindled to it at the end (“I’ve gave so many signs”). This song is so brilliant and one of Taylor’s best collab songs that I’m mad that it didn’t won the grammy for Best Duo Performance. Like come on.
My Tears Ricochet is a strong contender for a top 10 favorite Taylor Swift song period. Right from the first ghostly sounds that lingers for the rest of the track, you know how deeply depressing this song is going to hit super deeply and the rest of this song did not disappoint. As Swift emphasis the thematic approach of the anger and frustration that the person you thought you can trust and loved more than anyone will just stab you in the back and hurt you in the most deepest ways possible, even when you did nothing wrong (“You hear my stolen lullabies”), along with the idea of getting revenge of that person in the most unexpected ways possible (“You know I didn't want to have to haunt you. But what a ghostly scene”). The anger and depressing feeling Swfit wanted to go with this song is so incredible and emotionally gut ranching thanks to no smart part to Taylor’s vocal delivery, and the brilliant lyrics and production striking a deep a core that’s not even funny.
Mirrorball is a somber yet beautiful song about trying to present yourself in a flashy and idealized way for the world to see, but not trying to show the broken side within yourself and get judged for it. Swift uses this idea as a metaphor of her own life in terms of trying to hold herself together when she’s in public and present herself as the most confident woman imaginable because that’s what the world wanted her to be (“I'm a mirrorball. I can change everything about me to fit in”) while also hiding some of the inner pain she’s experiencing when she’s not in public (“I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try”), especially when she wrote this song after finding out that her Lover tour was canceled because of the pandemic. The somber production and folk like sound of this tracks perfectly reflects the depressing feeling she feels about being famous and showing part of herself while hiding the broken pieces within her, and this even applies to anyone who feels a similar feeling (regardless if they’re famous or not). Also side note, but the Longpond Studio version of this song is so beautiful that I honestly kinda loved it more the original version (but both versions are excellent in their own rights).
Track number 7 literally tiled Seven, puts emphasis on looking back on a childhood memory you didn’t see the clear picture of until you were older and wishing that you could have done things differently before things went to hell. For Taylor, she framed the song around a childhood memory she experiencing her childhood friend getting abused by their dad and the stress they have felt in that house (“And I've been meaning to tell you. I think your house is haunted. Your dad is always mad and that must be why”), and she suggested that they leave and live in a place where they won’t be hurt (India) and can enjoy their friendship forever (“Our love lasts so long”). The song’s use of piano and drums helps creates a nostalgic and bittersweet feeling on the memories of being young and not fully understanding the struggles that life throws at you in terms of tone and vibe, and it’s definitely a highlight on the album.
Moving over to August, the second installment of the album’s love triangle trilogy and it shifts to be from the perspective of Augustine and her time with James and how much they loved each other and all the fun times they had (“Remember when I pulled up and said "Get in the car") but never get the chance to have more time with each other because of James’s love for Betty (“But I can see us lost in the memory August slipped away into a moment in time. 'Cause it was never mine”). Similarly to Seven, this song captures a sense of fondness for the nostalgic memories you shared with someone with a more upbeat and happy apporch that sounds so lovely and upflting despite the hardships that steamed from it all, and it’s a joys to listen to between the bridge (“Wanting was enough. For me it was enough”), and the whole end part of the song is so much fun to jam and shoutout the lyrics to as well.
(TW: suicide, depression coming up for the next paragraph)
This is Me Trying is such a personal and beautiful ballad about trying to improve yourself from the toxic and harmful things in your life like drugs, alcoholism, messing up a relationship with someone, and thoughts of suicide, and the humility shown within yourself and those around you, even when no one else sees that growth within you. Now not to go super personal, but I have plenty experienced where I have done a lot of terrible things in my life and have really fucked up a lot in the process (whatever it’s with other people or my own self beings) that I have a lot of depression thoughts and even thoughts of taking my own life because I believe I was a fucked up. But through a lot of support with the people around me and gave me encourage to continue to live life, learn from my mistakes and try to be better because of it. Which partly why the song hit so deeply, because Taylor understands the inner truth of fucking up something really bad or doing something toxic and harmful that it could hurt the people around you (“I have a lot of regrets about that”) and wanted to let them know that you're trying your best to be better from your toxic past(“At least I’m trying), and I can’t help but feel a sense of somberness and tears starting to stream every time I listen to this song, because of how deep and personal it hit to own my life.
Illicit Affairs is another great track on this record that focuses on the secret relationship between two people (one of which is in an affair) with anyone else knowing what’s going on between them. The song beautifully puts emphasis on the relationship between Taylor and the secret person and the places they would meet (“Make sure nobody sees you leave. Hood over your head, keep your eyes down. Tell your friends you're out for a run. You’ll be flushed when you return”), but also makes it aware of the consequences that could steamed from the two of them meeting together and the constant damage that affects them physically and emotionally (“You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else. And you know damn well. For you, I would ruin myself. A million little times”). Its use of guitar strings and violins helps create a mysterious and intriguing journey through like a patch in the woods where no one can see the relationship going down, before gets louder and louder as Taylor address how broken and flawed this affair turned out to be for both sides, and how they can’t get away from each other even when things may not seem right. It’s truly a beautiful song. Also sidenote: Is it just me, or does it feel weird to listen to this song on this album after listening the eras tour version of it? Because it seems like they’re two completely different songs that share the same name. One that’s more calm and somber and the other that’s more loud and angry. Would love to hear the latter get a studio recorded version someday tho.
Now Invisible String is one of those songs from the moment I first heard it, I instantly fell in love with it. LIke the opening strings (ha no pun intended) of this song and how it emphasizes on the motifs on the guitars and drums strives on diving into this song focusing on the happiness of being in love and seeing the failed relationships lead to the perfect happy and content relationship you have now (“Hell was the journey, but it brought me heaven”). Taylor uses elements in her life like her experiences of the past relationships she had in the past (“Cold was the steel of my axe to grind, for the boys who broke my heart. Now I send their babies presents”) and use clever imagery to describe the journey of being in a happy relationship with (at the time) Joe Alwyn like colors such as green to sum up her peace and discovering of something new, the way she described who he was (“Teal was the color of your shirt, when you were sixteen at the yogurt shop”), and how they are bonded by a metaphorical invisible string through their love and understanding of each others happiness. It’s truly one of the best off this album and every time I hear those opening strings, I feel happy inside.
I’m going to be honest with ya’ll, Mad Women didn’t particularly clicked with me when I first heard it for some reason. But the more times I have listen to this song, the more I’ve grown to love this song. Not only with the great uses of the pianos and drums that once again fits into the folk like vibe of the song, but also expertly shows cases Taylor’s anger and frustrations that people don’t like how she (or any women in general) gets angry or frustrated about anything and they would call her a crazy nuthead and the sexism that lies into it that they failed to understand women like Taylor can too be angry and do the things that a man do on the regular basis. Plus it features one of my favorite lyrics in the entire album (“Does she smile? Or does she mouth, "Fuck you forever"?”), so that it makes the song even more impactful in the whole context of the album, and terms of Taylor Swift songs that she called out the shit the media and people who treated her like shit, this is a strong contender for the best of that bunch.
Epiphany is probably my least favorite track on this album. Now keep in mind, this is still a very good song (like none of the tracks on here are bad by any means), it’s just the slower and methodical pacing and approach of the song kinda hurts the pacing of the album by a tiny bit. That being said, it’s still a very good song that touches on the impact of a horrific event and what it can do to someone’s inner being after experiencing it (“With you I serve (With you I serve), with you I fall down (Down), down (Down)”). Swift drew parallels to both her grandfather’s experiences of being a solider and all of the medical professionals who were at the front ends of taking care of patients during the pandemic and how they saw the horrific events such as people dying or a terrible war going down to help gives the song that more personal touch to listen to. It’s my least favorite track, but still a very good one regardless.
Moving over to Betty, the final installment of the album’s love triangle trilogy and honestly my favorite of the 3 songs. The song takes the focus onto James, where he has fucked up his relationship with Betty and his trying to be emotionally honest and apologize for everything he has done, while Betty herself isn’t sure to forgive James in the process and thus James can accept the reality that rekindling the relationship isn’t worth it. The song may seem depressing on the surface, but Taylor did a great job on making the song more of a hopeful and honest reflection of how one’s actions can can fuck up a relationship so badly (“Betty, one time, I was riding on my skateboard, when I passed your house. It's like I couldn't breathe), and trying to apologize for it all no matter of what the outcome might be (“But if I just showed up at your party. Would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself or lead me to the garden?”). This is shown through the a hopeful approach within the production of the song, as it puts more emphasis on the piano and guitar strings and a harmonica to the first 2/3’s of the song to reflect on the “what could it be” portion of the song, before switching over the reality part of it all in the last 3rd and the key change hits hard with the addition of the drums to give it more a gut punch to it all (all of which is aided to Taylor, Jack, and Aaron’s production value to this track). An amazing closer to a trilogy if I ever call one.
Peace is also a really solid track on this record. I like the guitar riff on this track, along with the constant ringing sound that runs through it as well. Plus this song is a solid ballad about Taylor reforming to her lover that things won’t be peaceful as she tries to be because of how popular she is and how fearful she is to screw things up with this relationship regardless if it’s public or not (“Would it be enough if I can never peace?”). Tho this song losses some points because every time I hear the line “The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me”, all I can think of is Toy Story and the song You Got A Friend In Me. I’m sorry, it just does that to me. Still, very good song.
Hoax is a beautiful closer to the whole album. The melancholy and depressing tone set by the beautiful piano, violins, and strings helps the thematic approach of looking back at a toxic relationship and the mental state Taylor had back then and how she wanted and not wanted to leave the relationship (“Stood on the cliffside screaming, "Give me a reason. Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in”) really hit strongly. I love during the bridge Taylor and the production gets to the nitty gritty of how the relationship is toxic and how angry she felt when the person in a pervious relationship beat her down emotionally (“You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart”) and the way it builds and struck a melancholic and angry tone is very affective. Definitely one of the better closing tracks in a Taylor Swift album.
However, there is a bonus track on this album called The Lakes, and honestly, it’s my favorite track of the album. Literally this is a top 10 Taylor Swift song material right here, and perfectly showcases the brilliance of what makes Taylor such an exceptional artist. From the brilliant songwriting and lyrics that fits into the the themes of the album and how to find your comfort place away from the chaos and stress of life (“I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones. These hunters with cell phones”), to the beautiful production providing on soothing guitars and violins, to the way Taylor transport us to a place beyond our reality space (even though the song is based on Taylor’s experience of visiting the Lake District in England and the artists during the 19th centuries wanting to go over there and be away from everything), and wanting others to join us (“Cause I haven't moved in years, and I want you right here.”), to the emotional punch of it all that makes me choke up and feel at ease with my own mental state while listening to it. Literally this song is so perfect and it should be in discussion as one of her best songs to date.
Well, after all of that discussion, to sum it up, Folklore is truly a gift from the music gods. It’s one of the best albums to come out of the 2020 decade so far and one of my favorite albums of all time (both from Taylor Swift and in general) that I love going back and listen on the regular basis. This album showcases so much of what makes Taylor Swift such an entertaining and great artist to listen to thanks to no short part the excellent songwriting, unique and captivating production, mostly incredible songs (even the “weaker” songs on this album are still good”), and a tight focused collaboration by three insanely people working in the music industry (Taylor, Jack, and Aaron) that made this album strive to the highest remarks imaginable, and worthy of all the praise it received (including it’s AOTY win at the Grammys). Like I said at the beginning of the review, if it weren’t for the success of this album (along with it’s sister album Evermore that came out a few months after), we wouldn’t have seen the massive success of the re recordings, or Midnights, or the Eras Tour, or more recently with The Tortured Poets Department, and we wouldn’t experience the crazy Taymaina we’re still in today.
I know everyone has their feelings about Taylor Swift and her music (which I’m fine with people either liking or not liking her and her music, as along as you’re not an asshole to those who disagree with you), but this is an album so incredible that I would recommended to anyone to listen to (I would also recommended the Long Pond Studios documentary of this album that goes into more about the process of making these songs and the performances of them is equally as beautiful to listen to). It might be awhile before Taylor makes another masterpiece level of quality album like this or Red, but I know she has it in her to make another one someday, and we should be greatful that she united nearly everyone with this incredible work of art like this.
Standout tracks:
The Lakes, My Tears Ricochet, Mirrorball, This is Me Trying, Exile, Invisible String, The Last Great American Dynasty, Mad Woman, The 1, Seven, The Love Triangle Trilogy (Cardigan, August, Betty)
Final Rating: 10/10 - “Absolute Perfection”