folklore: The Album We All Needed
It’s Jul. 20, 2020. Life is a whirlwind of waking up and falling asleep over and over, the world outside your doors locked away behind a dangerous disease. It will be years, if ever, that life as you’ve known it will go back to normal.
But on the morning of Jul. 20, my friends, all is well. You wake up to a Tweet from Taylor Swift that says “Surprise! Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my 8th studio album, folklore.”
In the past, Swift often released albums every two years, with one three-year gap between 1989 and reputation. It had only been 11 months since Lover came out when Swift erupted social media with folklore’s announcement, something that no one could be blamed for being surprised by. How often does a mainstream artist release two full-length albums that close together, before touring was even supposed to be done for the previous album?
“cardigan” was the first and only single to be released, coming out at the same time as the rest of the album and debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (Swift’s second song to achieve this). It captivated audiences with its ballad-esque melancholy tones, its unorthodox mixing, and most importantly, its storytelling. “cardigan” is the first in a trio of songs on folklore all centered around a love triangle. Another of these, “betty,” became number six on the Hot Country Songs chart, its harmonica and guitar backing putting it in a whole different genre. Another massive success of the album, “exile,” peaked at number six on the Hot 100, categorized in yet another genre, adult alternative.
folklore wasn’t the first and certainly not the last of Swift’s albums to see massive success right out of the gate, but what sets folklore apart from the others is its sheer bravery in forging a new way ahead. While Swift is no stranger to the country genre, her ability to not only cross genres as an artist but to do so in a single album was something completely unique. None of the album’s songs are targeted towards the mainstream pop audience, either, whereas all of her previous albums had a lead single destined to be a chart-topper. “cardigan,” while it has its pop essence, is not upbeat or something you’d hear people singing along to at the club.
When it comes to the deep cuts, the theme of genre-switching continues. Songs like “seven” and “hoax” are slow piano pieces about real struggles like abuse and suicidal ideation. “my tears ricochet ” and “the 1” turn the intensity up a bit, focusing on more common pop ideas. There’s something in this album for everyone.
Perhaps the most important and exciting part of this new era for Swift fans is the new attitude you can hear in her music. After more than a decade of fighting against hate and misogyny, Swift takes her moment in folklore to focus on storytelling. She is no longer the main character of the story, and I for one absolutely love how honest and real that makes the album. She’s proven herself to be one of the most talented lyricists of our generation, someone who cares about her craft and does it because she loves it.
folklore deservedly won a Grammy for Album of the Year and will stand as the pinnacle of artistic musical expression during the beginning of the pandemic. To bring so much joy in such a trying time… well, ask any fan of hers what their reaction was to that Tweet back in July 2020. That will prove everything.