By Brandyn Huynh
Just eleven months after her previous record, “Lover,” Taylor Swift establishes herself as a song-writing icon who is not afraid to take risks in her music with her recent album release. Swift’s new album, “folklore,” dives into the distinct sound of indie-pop, kicking aside the bubblegum pop that made up her last era in music. Her creative storytelling and lyricism on this project make it, by far, the greatest album of 2020.
On the opening track “the 1,” Swift sings about the melancholy aftermath that comes after moving on from a relationship. She describes her experience of reminiscing and moving on in the lines, “I’m doing good, I’m on some new sh*t/Been saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’/I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t though.” Her candid lyricism here is more than evident.
On the fifth track, “my tears ricochet,” Swift hauntingly wails, “If I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?/Cursing my name/Wishing I stayed/Look at how my tears ricochet.” She explores the idea of detaching herself from a past identity and starting anew as a mature woman. Swift figuratively buries her past self to initiate a new era in her life in which she has grown from the past experiences that once impeded her growth.
Swift made a creative choice to build this album entirely on storytelling and imagined fantasies that she conjured during the quarantine. In the track “illicit affairs,” she tackles the guilt that comes after infidelity, writing, “You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else/And you know damn well/For you I would ruin myself a million little times.” What makes Swift such an astounding writer and storyteller is that she doesn’t need to have lived these experiences to write about them. “folklore” is the meticulous craft of fiction and escapism that all of us need to hear during quarantine.
Lastly, in my favorite track of the album, “peace,” Swift’s self-proclamation of being a hopeless romantic is realized. She describes her experience of feeling small in a relationship and feeling as if she has nothing more to give but her love when she declares, “Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other/Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother/Is it enough?” While questioning all of the things she has to offer in a relationship, Swift ultimately crafts the perfect love song that captures a distillation of a universal emotion — feeling small.