It’s been two weeks since Taylor Swift, the lovable, hatable, singer/songwriter dropped a surprise album for her fans and everyone else who has to hear about it. Which is more than enough time for a competent reviewer to get his or her thoughts about it out, but sine I work for a fake website, I am not on a time crunch, so here are some stale thoughts on the bum (what we in the industry call an album).
Before the album even begins there are a few blatant hints that assure you this album will not be a sequel to Lover. The black and white cover portraying an expeditious Taylor in the woods. The all lower case track titles demonstrating an understated tone, and of course the title itself, Folklore. But if you are a fan of Taylor Swift none of this matters, you think you know what you are in for because ever since Red she has strayed from her brittle country roots and found a comfortable home in the multilayered poposphere; putting her spin on dubstep, trap, synth, and while she may have caught some flack for her inconsistencies and experiments, she has always come out on top, except maybe for Reputation. Taylor has given us hit after hit in all of these different sectors of music and has earned herself a pass to keep at it because she and her producers do it well. Lover is the type of album that had it all. Like infinity war coming in Marvel’s tenth year, Lover was a wonderful cap on the first decade of America’s biggest pop star. Then the surprise of Folklore, fans such as myself were wondering what to expect and what we received was…
the 1
Immediately the piano sets off a mysterious tone, it sounds like it could be a sad ballad, but then with the back beat it could be typical Taylor of the past few years.. Regardless, it is sincere, sentimental, and sterling. Within seconds Taylor is cussin’. Something I cant say I’ve ever heard before and while it takes some time to process it, it should not be dwelled on, she is an accomplished songwriter and knows how sharp the teeth on those words are when she says them, so onward. The song itself is standard fair for Taylor, a happy sad love song. This time, as opposed to her classic form, she takes some blame and is lamenting on what could have been. It’s an honest account of what it means to move on, the person isn’t truly out of her head, but hey, she’s on some new S-word. Did you really think I would stoop to her level?
cardigan
The first tale in a trilogy within the album which is something entirely new for Taylor Swift and frankly something that we at the office believe is redolent of Kung Fu Kenny in DAMN. It’s a lovely song that does not want you to like it at first. You really have to stick around until the chorus to appreciate it because her vocal register and the rhythm of the saints behind her are somewhat bland. However, if you hang out for the full four minutes you’ll be glad you did. Oh, and that third verse, brava.
the last great american dynasty
Who knew Taylor Swift put as much thought into her real estate ventures as she did her songwriting. The story of Rebekah Harkness is a tale that Ms. Swift believes parallels her own life. If you are not interested in the tabloid and personal lives of celebrities, firstly I don’t blame you, but some of the similarities may have passed you by. Taylor Swift has been criticized in the past for having numerous boyfriends thought the years, and a group of friends, wild stuff I know. Here, Taylor Swift is following in the footsteps of Harkness by celebrating her success and carrying on in spite of the bad publicity, having a marvelous time while she does it.
exile
Who doesn’t love a good break-up duet? A milestone song for Taylor Swift. I love that she began the song with Just Vernon, it’s so surprising to hear his booming voice initiating a Taylor Swift song. This sorrowful story is pronounced by its hollow production and chilling backing vocals with all sorts or earthly sound effects in the background. I would listen to a whole album about this relationship. I love the collaboration of Swift and Vernon. It could be like the Kids See Ghosts of indie pop folk.
my tears ricochet
It had to be one of these songs, it’s just not one of my favorites. I like the writing, the double entendres pairing her lyrics and funeral imagery is solid. But the spooky moans in the background are kind of cheesy and I wish they were reconsidered.
mirrorballl
On the other hand, mirrorball, like a delicious piece of fudge, it gives us so little but oh so much to chew on. I can’t really say I know what she’s talking about, but my best attempt is that this hollow mirrorball of a person will do whatever she can to keep this significant other around. Sadly, this person can never really love her, because (he) is only looking at himself, because she is but a mirror. Love this song, it’s kind of like “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”, but way better.
seven
Another one (not quoting DJ Khaled). This is the kind of production and these are the vocals that I think could have helped the ricocheting tears. The intro to this song is abrupt and eerie, fit for a funeral, but within this song’s confines it plays out more like a distant intangible memory. Then, when you reach the chorus, a detail comes to focus and a lost friendship reveals itself. Along with it a conversation and before you know it, it’s drifting away again. I love this song for how evocative the lyrics are and they sound like they are written by someone remembering something they said when they were seven. I just think it’s so great, all around, it’s not a banger by any means, just a beautifully crafted song.
august
Episode 2 of the Betty trilogy. This song goes down like a bottle of non alcoholic wine. It’s got transportational powers that send the listener to this idyllic, romantic august even though you know underneath something isn’t right… to be continued in Betty.
this is me trying
Due to the Betty trilogy myself and listeners alike have wondered if more than said trio have a through line weaving them. The hints are in the lyrics and the repetition of certain words. It could be a reach but this song could play into mirrorball. The hints being here, she was a shiny wheel, the curve became a sphere, and the title which reflects her try, try, try. This woman’s got a lot of regrets and that makes sense considering she was being an idiot mirror instead of a person. Seems like she’s getting it together, but there is no try do or don’t.
illicit affairs
How adult, she’s out here cussin’, and having meetings in parking lots. A good ol’ sad song about cheating and the aftermath. Not much to say except, it’s really good.
invisible string
The first words uttered in this song made me dislike it. “Green was the color” ew. Not for green, but the technique. It sounds like a bad literary device, like starting a novel with, “it was a rainy night”. But, everything about this song is pure delight, I don’t even care about the leading lyric, in fact I can even defend it. Taylor Swift knows how cheesy it is to write this way and did it anyway because her invisible golden string made her or because she is so lovey dovey she’ll write a corny lyric if she wants who cares, who are you?
mad woman
I don’t love this song, but I have admittedly sung it around the house a few times. For fun though why don’t we try and connect it to tears ricochet. Maybe it was a suicide, this character when mad and killed herself and the funeral is ‘Ricochet’. More about how this antagonistic person kept on challenging her until it was too much and then he has the nerve to show up at the funeral like everything is honky dory. So, even with that, I’m still lukewarm on this song.
epiphany
It seems like Swift is drawing comparisons between Normandy and being sick with Covid. There’s nothing wrong with comparing things, but this one isn’t really making sense to me. I think this song I supposed to be more emotional than it is and it may have been better off if she elaborated on the soldier rather than lacklusterly throwing in latex hugs. I don’t think this song is bad, it just lacks potency. I know she wanted to tell two stories about longing for relief but verse two really does not add much, it may even take away.
betty
Here we go the epic conclusion to the Betty trilogy. James, the big dummy, started dating the hot chick from august because he saw Betty dancing with Hector at the school dance and he was bummed because he hated dancing and hot chick Juanita pulled up in her mom’s BMW and she had the best summer ever while he was thinking about Betty the whole time. So Inez obviously told the whole school when she found out, including Betty and everything went septic. Then at the end of the summer James finally got the nerve to go back to Betty and tell her she was his favorite cardigan.
Personally, I think it works out because Betty tells us on cardigan she was dreaming of James to come back, and he did, so maybe she doesn’t take him right to the garden and makes him work for his apology a bit but, I think it works out. Furthermore, I don’t think Juanita is all that bad, even if she is a bit of a home wrecker. She clearly had a thing for James, but it just wasn’t all that mutual. She tried to leverage her sensual politics, but it dies a million little times. Not that I think illicit affairs has anything to do with these crazy kids.
peace
I love the simplicity of this song. It sounds like a Lover leftover that matured like wine.
hoax
Could it be a prequel to exile? There seem to be a good heap of evidence. The scene set is someone believing in a doomed relationship. Then in the bridge she uses the movie theme again and how she let him in the (side) door. This song loses some points unfortunately because it is the closer and it doesn’t act like one.
Overall, big fan of this album. There are less skips than Lover and it is a sound we have not gotten from Taylor ever. It reminds me of what Eminem fans have wanted from him since Relapse. Always saying “we want the old Eminem”, but, you should never want the old anything from an artist. What you want is something that plays to your favorite artist’s strengths but with more experience and cutting edge ideas. I believe Folklore give us just that, except for the cutting edge ideas part. They are new for her though and she is not going back in time which is of the utmost importance.
