LISTEN HERE:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2fenSS68JI1h4Fo296JfGr?si=QKbxchcWTCGs6-bC9ioiwA
TS9 is here, it's new, it's different, and it's beautiful. After taking a couple of weeks to put folklore on rotation and really immerse myself in it, it's time to embark upon my review and thoughts on this sixteen-song walk through the woods.
The record was produced alongside Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Taylor has been working with Jack since her album 1989, and he's added his infectious indie-pop flair to her music seamlessly ever since. Aaron Dessner is the newcomer who brings the new, more mellow sound to this project, from his work with Bon Iver, Big Red Machine, and The National.
the 1 is a positive way to start this album, Taylor greeting us with “I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit”. The lyrics look back on time spent with someone in a lighthearted way, even though it didn't work out. It feels like it could be a conversation overheard at a college class reunion:
We were something, don't you think so?
Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool
And it would have been fun, if you would have been the one
cardigan was released as the lead single (if you can call it that, since it was only released 24 hours before the album dropped). What is truly significant about this song is that it has finally broken Taylor's career-long curse of having the first single off of each album always, without fail, being the worst song on the entire record.
This is my controversial opinion, but I think it's true! Every first taste we get of her albums is the most shallow, non-innovative, radio-friendly track of the bunch – case in point: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Shake It Off, ME!, and, of course, Look What You Made Me Do (yikes). The lead singles always make me concerned for the quality of the upcoming album, but the rest of the record is always of a much higher quality than its first impression.
Anyways, back to cardigan, which holds a top-three spot in my book for this album. It's moody and wistful for a past love, and the tone stays that way until the last chorus, where the chords resolve into a more hopeful major key, and the lyrics shift to be more at peace with the past.
But I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss, I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs
The smell of smoke would hang around this long, 'cause I knew everything when I was young
I knew I’d curse you for the longest time, chasing shadows in the grocery line
I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired and you’d be standin’ in my front porch light
And I knew you’d come back to me
the last great american dynasty is by far one of her most creative songs content-wise. It tells the story of the outspoken woman from decades gone by who was the original owner of Taylor's iconic Rhode Island beach home. It's the most light, upbeat track on the album, and it's a sweet homage to a woman who shook up the sleepy beach town with her parties and escapades before Taylor took over the house.
exile is a theatrical, sweeping piano ballad featuring alternative artist and vocalist Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver. When Taylor duets with a male artist, you know the song is going to mean business (case in point: The Last Time). It compares being left by a lover to being exiled from your own homeland, and having nowhere to call home. It features yet another one of Taylor's signature chill-inducing bridges, bringing the song to its emotional peak:
So step right out, there is no amount
of crying I can do for you
All this time
we always walked a very thin line
You didn’t even hear me out (Didn’t even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
my tears ricochet is a mournful tune comparing a broken relationship to a funeral. The light background vocals and use of vocoder harmonies add a hushed feel, but at the same time emphasize the harsh repetition of “if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake, cursing my name?”
mirrorball sounds exactly like that – a shimmering, lazily rotating disco ball, and vocals that give me major Stevie Nicks vibes. It sounds like it would fit right in playing as the soundtrack to an 80's prom scene in a movie.
seven is a folksy look back on childhood adventures, talking about looking up at the sky in Pennsylvania, sweet tea in the summer, and trading secrets with old best friends.
august quickly reached the spot for my favorite track on this album, with its nostalgic, carefree feel, and lush, dreamy instrumentals. It gives you that very specific feeling of your heart swelling up in your chest, bringing back sweet memories of whatever the lyrics bring to mind:
Back when we were still changing for the better, wanting was enough, for me, it was enough
To live for the hope of it all, canceled plans just in case you’d call and say, “Meet me behind the mall”
So much for summer love and saying “us”, 'cause you weren’t mine to lose
But I can see us lost in the memory, August slipped away into a moment in time 'cause it was never mine
this is me trying muses through various shortcomings and struggles, remembering regrets from the past, and feels like the confusion trapped in someone's head as they plead, “at least I'm trying.”
illicit affairs is, dare I say it, the All Too Well of this album. It hits the same emotional vein of resigned yet desperate heartbreak, and frustration at the loss of someone who used to be so wonderful.
Don't call me “kid,” don't call me “baby,” look at this godforsaken mess that you've made me
You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else
Don't call me “kid,” don't call me “baby,” look at this idiotic fool that you've made me
You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else
invisible string is an example of some of the most stellar writing on this record, weaving in little details of a long-term love story and things from Taylor's life that long-time fans could recognize. I love the picture it paints of how it seems that every single step in your life had led you to the person you're supposed to be with:
Time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs
Were there clues I didn’t see?
And isn’t it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string tying you to me
It gives the most direct glimpse into her journey as a person throughout her life and relationships, and shows her character growth that I admire so much:
Cold was the steel of my ax to grind
for the boys who broke my heart
Now I send their babies presents
Gold was the color of the leaves when I showed you around Centennial Park
Hell was the journey, but it brought me heaven
mad woman takes a decidedly darker, moody turn, describing a possible failed love triangle, and lives up to the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. It hearkens back to the Reputation era, where Taylor had no qualms about describing the people who were hatefully out to get her.
epiphany sounds just like an Imogen Heap song, and I'm all for it. It vaguely describes fighting a war in the first verse, then seems to describe the current, bleak state of the pandemic in the second verse:
Something med school did not cover
, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother
Holds your hand through plastic now
“Doc, I think she’s crashing out”
And some things you just can’t speak about
Only twenty minutes to sleep
, but you dream of some epiphany
Just one single glimpse of relief
to make some sense of what you’ve seen
betty is a standout track that hearkens back to her country roots, and tells a sweet story like Mary's Song (Oh My My My). It's from the perspective of a seventeen year old boy, trying to win over Betty by showing up to her party and declaring his love for her. It's so cute, and it sounds so much like old Taylor, from the acoustic guitar to the melodies.
peace describes the commitment of true love to someone, even after the summers and honeymoon phases are over. Taylor sings about knowing that people are watching and judging her relationship, and knows that she alone can never give someone peace, but she keeps her fire of devotion burning.
hoax is a winsome, melancholy end to the album that describes a barren, dishonest relationship, and asking for a reason to stay in a love that's a hoax.
folklore tells a wide range of stories, from heartbreak to childhood to lasting love to teenage crushes. It's the first one of Taylor's albums that isn't focused in on one time in her life, one person, or one relationship. It's more of a body of work that comes after living a life full of new experiences, people coming and going, and growing into the person and woman that she is.
Thanks for reading!
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