She surprised us last July with a surprise album, Folklore, and now, in the week of her 31st birthday, she’s doing it again. Sister album Evermore is the sequel to the successful and well-received Folklore. Big shoes to fill. But she succeeds. The ‘new Taylor’ has found her new sound completely and has managed to write another album of the same high quality after 16 great tracks on Folklore.
On Folklore, Swift took a different path, which suits her well. From (overproduced) pop hits to acoustic folk-pop with narrative lyrics sung mainly over soft piano and guitar. Apparently, the lockdown unleashed so much inspiration that there were enough songs to fill a second album. And thankfully so! This new sound suits Swift perfectly and continues on in sister album Evermore.
Unlike on Folklore, an older sound of Swift is heard on Evermore. Her country roots return in the comedic murder-ballad/whodunnit No Body, No Crime and in Cowboy Like Me. This certainly doesn’t feel out of place on Evermore. However, not all the tracks on this album seem to fit entirely. Especially Closure, with its electric beats in the background, stands out oddly among all the calm pop-folk songs.
The sound that made Folklore such a huge success is thankfully heard a lot on Evermore. Opening track and new single Willow, Champagne Problems, ’tis The Damn Season, and Ivy certainly showcase the sisterly link with Folklore and continue the successful formula brilliantly.
Never change a winning team
Evermore is written and produced by the same team behind Folklore. And why not? Swift’s narrative lyrics, with a little help from William Bowery (pseudonym of her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn), fit perfectly over the productions of Aaron Dessner (The National) and Jack Antonoff (FUN. and Bleachers).
Other musicians are also present on this new album to varying degrees. Dessner has summoned his band The National on Coney Island, Marcus Mumford is the backing vocalist on Cowboy Like Me, and Bon Iver is again present on the title track Evermore. While the collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on Exile was a highlight on Folklore, the collaboration on Evermore is somewhat of a mild disappointment. Vernon’s deep voice, which was expected to shine on Exile, remains in the background as a second voice. Compared to Swift’s voice, Vernon’s deep voice, which was clearly present on the forefront of Exile, worked much better.
Evermore: Songwriting at its best
Where Swift often wrote autobiographically on previous albums, she started telling (other people’s) stories on Folklore. Swift has a lot to tell and has been greatly inspired by the poets in the Lake District in England, as she mentioned in Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Disney+. Some of her lyrics would certainly not be out of place as poems. Her ode to her late grandmother on Marjorie is definitely a highlight in terms of lyrics on this album.
Her collaboration with the girl band HAIM forms the basis for No Body, No Crime. Again, Swift’s lyrics shine here. Over fairly cheerful country-pop music, she sings about a murder. More specifically, about accusing a murderer and coming up with an alibi for herself with the help of the HAIM sisters. A comedic note on a cheerful album with occasional serious undertones.
What a lockdown is good for. Her earlier music was certainly not bad, but the new Taylor Swift we got to know so well this year is here to stay. We’ve already been spoiled this year with two full albums, but hopefully, many more sister albums like this will come out. As she sings herself in the opening track Willow: She comes back stronger than a ’90s trend.
