Taylor Swift folklore Review
By: Mallory Johnson
Taylor Swift announced via her social media accounts that she was releasing a surprise eighth album, titled “folklore” at midnight the night of Thursday, July 23rd. The announcement was made early Thursday morning. I was shocked and super excited all day long. My Four Town Journal readers may remember from previous articles, that I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. It was eleven months to the day since she released her seventh album “Lover.” I listened to the album in my room, in the dark and with my airpods in for the full experience. When I went to listen to it on Apple Music (which is the streaming service I use), the release was delayed for 20 minutes and I was angry. The slowed down acoustic/folky sound surprised me but I love it, it sounds like an album that would be played at a coffee shop. It reminds me of “Fine Line” by Harry Styles, “Golden Hour” by Kacey Musgraves, “Sing To Me Instead” by Ben Platt, and “Wasteland, Baby” by Hozier. As of the time I am writing this, my top three songs are “Betty,” ”Seven,” and “The Last Great American Dynasty.” I was shocked when I found out that the album was explicit - this is Swift’s first explicit album. Explicit means the album contains some swearing. The storytelling on this album is absolutely beautiful and is perfect for a more slowed down sound. The album was mostly written in quarantine this year. ”Folklore” feels like a warm hug on a cold day. There is one collaboration on the album, and it is the song “Exile” featuring Bon Iver, and I love it. There are some references to her older songs, for example in the song, “Invisible String” she says, “Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A.” which refers to her song Bad Blood. The song “My Tears Ricochet” (which happens to be the fifth track on the album, which have been known to be her saddest songs) is self written by Swift only. The album feels haunting and poetic and atmospheric. It feels like a more mature version of her third album, Speak Now. The lines from ”Epiphany” that say, “Something med. school doesn’t cover” and “holds your hand through plastic now” hit hard during COVID-19. The song “This Is Me Trying” feels brutally honest and relatable. The songs, “Illicit Affairs” and “Epiphany” remind me of Hamilton. Some songs remind me of fictional couples that I love. My official overall rating is 10/10, and I highly recommend listening to it!