Album Review: Taylor Swift Leaves Behind Her Popstar Days And Returns To Her Country Roots

This deeply emotion yet enchanting album is your next Spotify go-to album.

Picture Credit: Vogue.com

Singer and songwriter Taylor Swift has been one of the most dominating commercialized sugar pop artists that has kept her songs at the top of the charts in the past decade. Taylor has definitely gained the reputation of creating pop breakup hits that have catered to younger audiences but has lacked the ability to venture out into new musical territory until now. With the surprise release of her new album "Folklore" back on July 24th, 2020 she has gained a whole new audience of followers that love her new direction into the indie/folk genre. But this shouldn't come as a complete surprise as her album "Lover" which dropped in 2019 had some low-key rustic ballads. You can certainly tell she was getting ready for a transition between genres and the pandemic sped up the process of her creating this album to introduce her new approach.

Many people grew out of my Taylor Swift phase by the age of twelve and would merely listen to her songs occasionally in a doctor's office. Seeing the release of this new album and all the craze it was getting on social media there was no choice but to give it a try. The shock pure and utter shock came upon initially hearing the stylistic pivot. Contrary to the typical songs

she puts out regarding her relationships, this album moves between generations and tells the stories of different people's lives.

The narrative device she uses of storytelling brings the whole album together and shows the more mature side of Taylor's songwriting skills. These three-dimensional storylines can resonate with the audience so much more than her surface-level "Shake It Off" songs. Specifically, songs like "The Last Great American Dynasty" talks about a woman called Rebekah Harkness, an eccentric philanthropist and wealthy widow who walks us through her life story. Track 13: " Epiphany" even touches on the loss of soldiers in WWII in reflection of the loss of loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Something med school did not cover Someone's daughter, someone's mother Holds your hand through plastic now Doc, I think she's crashing out And some things you just can't speak about"

This is an ode to how trauma can cause people to lose themselves and never speak upon the horrors they faced. The emotional rollercoaster these moody songs take you can be appreciated driving home on a rainy day or sitting by the campfire with your loved ones. There is love, loss, and pain that make this album one of her best works.

The acoustic instrumentation and lavishly arranged lyrics make up a combination that isn't overpowering but overall makes for lyrical poetry. The vocals in these songs feel real and the dynamics in her voice make way for the genuine emotions being felt through the lyrics. Taylor not only embraces the moany, slow, elongated breathy singing of folk songs but accomplishes a stir of emotions when listening to each word being sung. With one feature of Justin Vernon from Bon Iver on this album in the song "Exile," you can definitely feel the vocal chemistry of this duet and enchanting sounds over the piano which sets the foundation for this piece.

To say the least this album is like a breath of fresh air and a sigh of relief that commercialized artists can someday have the maturity to move into a different musical direction. As someone who was once a fan and grew out of love with Taylor Swift, it is nice to say that I'm finally listening to this new and improved version of her. She has an amazing voice and I'm happy to say she put it to use in the creation of "Folklore." If you are in need of a good cry or just in need of a moody album to listen to on an autumn night I would highly recommend this album.

* This is an academic article