Everyone of her fans remembers last July, When Taylor Swift released a surprise album entitled Folklore. The album was well received by her fanbase, many of whom were surprised that Swift has taken yet another direction on her musical journey. We’ve seen her as the world’s greatest young country singer, a pop star with chart topping hits, and now as a folk artist with lyrics that perfectly match each chord on the piano and the guitar.
Taylor Swift is one of the most eclectic, musical icons for today’s generation. There are only a few artists ever who could pull off successful projects in each of those categories. It is safe to safe that Swift is not taking her talent for granted, she is still songwriting constantly and reinventing herself in completely different ways. What is so special about the music she’s creating is that it perfectly reflects lives that her fans are living due to the global pandemic. Since millions of people have died worldwide as a result of the coronavirus, audiences are not going to be very receptive to traditional pop/dance music. Swift understands that, and instead of putting out another pop record that would not resonate with her fans because of COVID-19, she decided to create music in a completely different genre in order to match the emotions and psychological feelings of her fans and the world at large. Usually when artists switch genres they alienate part of their fan base. However, Swift’s fans follow and engage with her music no matter what genre she has chosen to sing it in.
Folklore, by all accounts was a surprise record that showed us a side of Taylor that many of us didn’t know she had. Every aspect of her musical production was well composed and performed on the album. Some of the harmonica sounds were shades of Jagged Little Pill and the songs were about storytelling. Every time there is a new album her name pops up in the medium because some critics think that her songs about breakups are about people she has dated in real life. Whether that’s a true criticism or not, it is undeniable that Taylor has an outstanding ability to sing and play instruments in any genre and continue to have a strong connection with her audience.
On December 11, Swift surprised her fans again with a follow-up album entitled Evermore. It’s another folk album just like the one she released over the summer. Evermore is deliberately similar to her previous album because she wants her fans to view it as a continuation, that both albums together are a collaborate piece of musical art that is a perfect reflection of the world we live in.
It takes a lot for artists to create art in different genres and mediums. Taylor is one of the special artists in the music medium that can capture an audience in a variety of different ways. One aspect that is really vibrant about her last two surprise albums is that both of them are heavy on storytelling, there’s almost like a blues quality to the lyrics and instrumentation in some ways on certain songs. One of her most popular songs is “Betty” from Folklore. I really appreciate the musicology of that song. If you would like to read my review of the song please click here: Taylor Swift “Betty” Song Review
View here title track for the new album below:
