Review Summary: A woman that has not run out of fearless shifts
No one imagined Taylor Swift, the once country singer gone full pop mega star through the course of several albums, would craft an entire indie folk album just like that at her thirties. And yet nothing makes more sense. As much fun as her mean streak and zingers in big hooks are, and as good as she is at those since her Picture To Burn days, there’s nothing quite as moving as her intimate acoustic attempts such as Last Kiss, All Too Well, New Year’s Day, or Lover, and an album of just that was long overdue.
One of the reasons why Swift gathered crowds of adoring fans has always been how real her lyrics felt, pretty much diary entries turned into songs. But by the time the album Lover came, it felt almost as if she had to explain all her current feelings to the public. After all, she found her soulmate and fans expected an album about it. The explaining of who she is, what happened or what her life is like has always been somewhat there, for better or for worse. But in Folklore the ficcional writing paradoxally allowed a return to honesty in its pure form. Freed of radio ambitions and of holding on to factual details, in this album she just goes to her core. One might think the result would be generic verses trying to be universal, but on the contrary, intricate imagined details and metaphors build sincere, heartbreaking sorrow in songs such as “my tears ricochet” or “hoax”, as well as the nostalgia of “seven”, the anger of “mad woman” and even the fun of tales like “the last great american dynasty”.
Her adventure towards new ground, and indie ground at that, never looses old trade marks. The bridge of “august” parallels that of Cruel Summer and should be enough to prove she’s still very much there for catchy moments, only this time around in a dreamier and barer incarnation with the help of the folk experienced co-writer Aaron Dessner.
It seems that the writer who created her fair share of mixed bag albums has once again found her footing for now, and one can only wonder where she lands next.
