Since the world seemed to crash to a halt back in March, all everyone is doing with the extra time on their hands is consuming media. Whether it was begging musicians to finally come out with new music or for directors and screenwriters to revise and better their scripts for now-delayed projects, everyone wanted something to cure their boredom. With concerts and festivals put to rest for the duration of the summer, many artists used this time of standstill as a chance to create.

 For Taylor Swift, who was initially supposed to spend the summer touring her album “Lover” which she had released last August, she utilized the time stuck at home to bring together her newest album and release it with less than a 24-hour notice to fans on July 2.

 The “We Are Never Getting Back Together” artist turned on her heel in all senses of style and sound when it comes to “folklore.” With the immediate release of the album, many fans were quick to jump in praise and rejoice at such a large name releasing more than just a single, especially so unexpected, but it was the content and air of the album that was really turning heads. Longtime fans of Swift that had turned away from her recent pop saturated sound, have also been reluctant to take a chance and listen to this 16-track album.

 From the start of the album, anyone can easily say that this is either a new start for Swift or at the very least a step back. “The 1” is the first demonstration that we see of the characters that Swift brings into her songwriting on “Folklore.” Initially meant to be a conglomerate of tales of historical figures and stories from fans, rather than just her own, Swift approaches these songs in a delicate way that is almost underwhelming at times.

“The last great american dynasty,” a personal favorite of mine, follows the life of Rebekah Harkness who was a patron of the arts and founder of the Rebekah Harkness Foundation. She was considered one of the wealthiest women in America after her second marriage to Standard Oil heir William Hale Harkness. Harkness was a previous owner of Swift’s Rhode Island house known most famously for her signature Fourth of July parties. Taylor begins to draw the similarities between herself and Rebekahs reputations, more so how headstrong women have typically been looked down upon, especially when not kept in line by a man, as seen throughout the song when it comes to Rebekah. “Who knows, if I never showed up, what could’ve been / There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen / I had a marvelous time ruining everything” Although referring to Rebekah the entire song, it isn’t until Swift gets to the final verse that she references herself directly, connecting the two in more ways than just sharing an East Coast home.

One of the more notable songs on the album, “exile” featuring Justin Vernon, known for his songs as Bon Iver like “Skinny Love” and “Holocene” is a tasteful duet that brings an entirely different depth to “Folklore.” Seeming both an inspirational and strategic move on Swift’s part, enlisting an idol of hers such as Vernon added more to the folk and soft edges she was aiming for with this track and entire album overall. but the contrast between their two voices also adds multitudes of emotional height to the song. Depicting a story of two ex-lovers each telling just why their relationship ended, Vernon’s rough and robust voice pitted against Swift’s fragile and lark-like tone creates a nearly eerie ending with the overwhelming piano.

 Fan favorites like “betty” bring back familiar sounds from Swift’s first albums like “Fearless” and her debut self-titled album “Taylor Swift,” whereas “august” ushers the listener to prepare for the cooler air of autumn, change and enjoy another catchy and heart-torn tune.

 Overall, for fans that were reluctant to listen to folklore, there are definitely songs that remain memorable, but chunks of the album can also pass as just something to have on as white noise. Some of the songs just start to blur together. Although an impressive feat done by Swift in a matter of months solely from just her Los Angeles home, many will simply enjoy folklore from the nostalgia it brings of Taylor Swift songs past.  

Image from Taylor Swift via YouTube