Taylor Swift’s back to help us all through the peak of Covid-19 Summer with her latest album Folklore. This album dropped at midnight on all music streaming platforms. This album features eleven mellow and calming tunes that showcase some of her most vulnerable lyrics yet.
Folklore is her eighth studio album which is absolutely incredible in and of itself. This album features work from some “musical heroes” such as Bon Iver, William Bowery, Aaron Dessner, and Jack Antonoff. After seeing how well Lover did last year, simply seeing Antonoff’s name may make Folklore a 2020 hit.
This album did not come about with her usual promotional easter eggs, hints, and warnings throughout 2019 and 2020. Actually, many fans are still sharing hits from the Lover album that came out in August 2019. Folklore is truly a simple, sweet surprise as if she’s popping out of the blue to say, “here it is, I made something new for you my friends;” and honestly, it works in true Taylor Swift fashion.
In her Instagram post she says she’s releasing her “entire brand new album of songs [she’s] poured all of [her] whims, dreams, fears, and musings into.” The melodies in Folklore truly are whimsical, and the lyrics are filled with relatable dreams and fears we can all resonate with. For instance, if you’ve ever lost touch with an old friend after hurting them, the song betty says “the worst thing I ever did, was what I did to you.” Frankly, she’s got you pinned if you have ever worn teal while working at a yogurt shop to make a little extra money. Did I mention, there’s a song titled Cardigan and her merch includes a cardigan? She even has bonus songs that will be on her physical album copies.
There are conspiracies that come up about her release schedule between albums, I used to be guilty of following along. However, this album could not have come out at a better time. She wrote in her Instagram post that rather than waiting for the “‘perfect’ time,” she chose to drop Folklore now since “the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.”
In isolation she let her imagination run wild to fill our ears with love, wonder, and whimsy in the form of musical folklore.
Despite the conspiracies that many of her listeners are already in the progress of forming about her songs and album, Taylor Swift is cooling stresses among listeners in from the album’s start to finish. Folklore is the perfect album to turn on when you light a candle and settle in to focus on reading, writing, studying, driving, maybe even daydreaming. I know I’ve said this album couldn’t have come out at a better time, I meant it. Folklore dropped at the point in the Summertime when the fun you had anticipating the Summer sun starts to fade. For so many, this Summer has been absolutely nothing but fun in the sun; surrounded by feelings of fear, anger, grief, and pain.
It’s awe-inspiring how Taylor Swift’s still able to share her latest and most vulnerable music in a time like this. Folklore carries such sweet and soft vibes during this time of global pandemic and social justice awakening. While this album showcases some very solo thoughts and moments that touch us all while we’re self-isolating, it has a way of bringing its listeners together. Hopefully listening to Folklore on repeat can help us all feel a little closer together for a little while.
Listen to the full album below and let your woes melt away. Comment below how this album makes you feel in these uncertain, Unwritten, times.
Featured Image via Cardigan music video screengrab
