evermore: Pop-folk phenomenon or forgotten sister?

The average rate in which Taylor Swift releases an album is every two years. Lover was released in August 2019, and folklore quickly broke this trend, coming out in July of 2020. We thought we had it all figured out. She was spent. How could she possibly release another album in 2020, let alone 2021?

Fool me once, Taylor.

evermore, like its sister, emerged without any grandiose buildup or long-winded marketing campaigns. It was Taylor’s birthday gift to us, released just two days before her birthday. In her announcement tweet, Swift wrote, “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 music.” Just like its sister, evermore topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks straight, garnering immense critical acclaim.

However, there was something different about evermore—it was hard to miss, but also hard to put your finger on. While folklore lives in the hearts of many as either the introduction to Swift’s amazing lyrical abilities or the album that sold the artist who was always in the conversation, these conclusions aren’t only identified in evermore.

Pertaining to the music itself, evermore definitely follows the pop side of pop-folk, unlike folklore, which mixes a bit more evenly and blends in other genres as well. evermore doesn’t focus on recurring themes and characters very heavily, while folklore has an entire backstory and world that is built behind the songs. While it may seem that this would put evermore at an immediate disadvantage, I would argue the opposite.

Just like folklore, the sister album comes out the gate with amazing songs only Swift could write. “willow” is most the prominent example of this, as quickly it became more popular than “cardigan,” the lead single on Swift’s previous album. “champagne problems,” a fan favorite, follows an escalation of tension and trauma in which Swift sings, “She would have made such a lovely bride / what a shame she’s fucked in the head, they said.” Swift’s grittier lyrics return in evermore, signaling the possibility that she may permanently shift away from her non-explicit roots. “no body, no crime” leans pop country, another important song as it peaked at number two on the Billboard Country chart. “tolerate it,” a deeper track, tells the story of a broken relationship fraying away: “I made you my temple, my mural, my sky / Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life.”

While the surprise and novelty of evermore may not have been as great as its big sister, there’s not a doubt in my mind that those who pass over evermore are missing out on the same expert musical craft as all of Swift’s other albums. This album is one to cherish—a lyrical adventure through perfectly made stories.

As Swifties have seen in the past, and see even more clearly through folklore and evermore, Taylor prefers to work in pairs. Fearless and Speak Now represent her country past and blooming popularity; Red and 1989 show her shift into pop and the weight of that popularity; reputation and Lover are the night and day of her musical ability; and finally, folklore and evermore, released only six months apart, show off Swift’s commitment to music and undeniable proof of her place among the greatest songwriters of all time. 

Thank you for coming along with Kat and I as we talked about these works that mean so much to so many. Whether the next album is poppy and upbeat, slow and thoughtful, or both, you’ll know for sure that two people from The Lamron are listening—you’ll know how much it means to them, too.