Orla McAndrew
2020 works hard but Taylor Swift works harder. In what has been one of the most challenging years for the world Taylor Swift has dropped two epic albums. In summer folklore was released, which saw Swift return to her country roots. Folklore was a perfect companion during lockdown, Swift gave us an album full of stories and beautiful melodies. When she announced that folklore was getting a sister album I was elated. Evermore has certainly not disappointed.
“Swift once again utilises her story-telling skills, crafting songs round tragic, beautiful character arcs.”
Evermore is described by Swift as the sister record to folklore, however it invites the listener further into Swift’s carefully crafted “folklorian woods”. The album is subtler than folklore, it requires multiple listens to, to decode all the hidden messages and stories within the songs. Every time I listen to it, I notice something new which is incredibly refreshing.
On the release of her new album she took to Instagram: “To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in”.
Swift once again utilises her story-telling skills, crafting songs round tragic, beautiful character arcs. In evermore this skill has been honed and improved upon. Each character is given an abundance of detail and backstory. You can’t help but keep thinking about them even after you have listened to the track. My personal favourite example of this is ‘no body, no crime’ featuring Haim. Swift uses a three minute track to craft a story of adultery and double murder which is worthy of a feature film. She uses a mixture of the third and first person to tell her stories on evermore. On “champagne problems” Swift tells the story of a rejected proposal with a melancholic piano playing in the background.
A glimpse of pop
Musically evermore, is alternative-folk, although there are still glimpses of pop-Taylor in ‘gold rush’, ‘long story short’ and to some extent ‘willow’. These tracks echo the 1989 era of Taylor Swift. However, the vocal arrangement, clever use of instruments keep them rooted firmly in the campfire aesthetic. When tours can finally begin again I have a feeling that these will be crowd pleasers.
Swift is known for her albums reflecting tabloid observations of her (most notably Reputation). Folklore and evermore have stayed away from this yet remained their personal touch. ‘Marjorie’ is a moving tribute to Swift’s opera singer grandmother’s Majorie Finlay. The lyric video shows home videos of Marjorie as Swift sings “I should’ve asked you questions/ I should’ve asked you how to be/ Asked you to write it down for me”. In a year marked by loss and grief these lyrics are even more poignant.
“Folklore and evermore have brought so much joy in this difficult year”
Evermore is a beautifully crafted album, heartwarming and in some places heartbreaking. It shows the full range of both Swift’s vocal talents and lyrical talents. Folklore and evermore have brought so much joy in this difficult year. As Taylor put it “I have no idea what will come next”. Whatever does come next for Swift, I’m sure 2021 is going to be good.
Orla McAndrew
Photo by Asher Ward on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to the image.
Orla McAndrew
Orla McAndrew is a co-founder of Empoword Journalism and also a features and Instagram editor. As a freelance writer she has written for Stylist Magazine, The Yorkshire Evening Post, The Indiependent, The Hysteria Collective and SmallScreen. Currently she is an intern at Screen Yorkshire, and in September she was be starting her English Literature degree at the University of York.
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