Evermore

Somehow Taylor Swift made another album in quarantine with the same team as Folklore and it was released a few days ago. My friend Nick asked me my thoughts after I had some time to sit with it and here was my reply:

First few listens of Evermore and I had a conversation with a friend that “it felt like a B-sides to Folklore… The delicate hooks weren’t there… It felt all over the place.”

Then, after diving in and accepting the challenge of the album, and it IS challenging, I changed my tune. It is on par and in some ways better than Folklore. But this isn’t about ranking. It truly is a sister album. The more adventurous sister that sees things with a bit more weathered worldview.

Favorites include: Cowboy Like Me, Gold Rush, Happiness and Marjorie. The latter is about her grandma. It’s the companion song to the song about her Grandpa (Epiphany). I recommend the lyric video with film of her grandma (who was an opera singer and has a bit of vocals ghosted at the end).

Overall? I feel like this album takes more work to vibe, but once you do, you find new ways to emphasize.

It’s a dark and wintry album, with themes that tend to swirl around different approaches to loss.

If you liked Folklore, don’t be afraid to skip some songs and give it some rotation.