my thoughts on folklore

This is pretty much a Taylor Swift appreciation post. Well... what it’s really is an entire post dedicated to praising her newest album folklore.

Folklore is this mix of indie, and alternative music. It also has a few mildly pop tracks. 

Before I get into my impression of the album let me tell you… I was not a Swiftie when this album came out. I was really into her music when 1989 dropped and I knew almost all of her old stuff because my sister listened to it. I never got into Lover or Reputation though. I actually haven’t heard either. So my reaction to her album wasn’t the result of being a total fangirl.

This album came out pretty much unannounced. It was mid-corona and all Taylor Swift did to promote it was a tweet the night before it dropped. I heard a lot about it right after the release but I didn’t listen to it. Eventually I did. What got me to actually listen though, were the opinions popping up saying this album was a new Taylor. Influencers were saying she went back to her roots. Rumors even circled saying she was going completely back to country.

And, just like that I am once again a Swiftie. I’m obsessed. Folklore is the only thing I listen to now. This album is just my vibe. I have had a lot of time to sit with the album and really listen to it. I had no intention to write a post about it when I first heard it. But it was just too good and I loved it too much. 

Every song on folklore is full of emotion. The lyrics to each song are absolutely insane. Every track is legitimately beautiful. I can’t have one favorite and I definitely do not have a least favorite but some of these songs are just it. The duet she put out with Bon Iver, “exile,” is so strong. They sound so good together. “hoax” is so simple and kind of sad but so pretty! “epiphany”  was the song that made me realize how emotional this album was. “the last great american dynasty” is one of the more upbeat songs. It’s about the previous owner of Taylor Swift's house in Rhode Island. I don’t understand how she even thought of the idea for this one. The lyrics are so detailed and just genius. “my tears ricochet” is one of the sadder songs but it is also so beautiful. And obviously there is the infamous love triangle presented in the three songs “cardigan,” “betty,” and “august.” All three songs tell the same teen love story from three different perspectives. It’s just so cool! Taylor Swift being the lyrical genius she is, references lyrics from song to song throughout the album. Each song is left to be interpreted in a new way. This album is unreal. I think it’s so insane how I can listen to the album over and over again and still hear a line that totally gives every other song or lyric a different meaning. 

Honestly, I cannot describe what I feel when I listen to this album but I feel something new. It’s like you are brought into this album that’s a little bit fantasy, sort of sad, so emotional, and beautiful.