Taylor Swift: evermore - Album Review

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Back in August, with less than a day's notice, Taylor Swift dropped probably the best album of her career thus far: folklore (2020) . After enjoying Lover (2019) , I was stunned, This was music that crossed generations, and from that album, I still listen to 'exile' a fair bit.

Well, now, less than five months later, with less than a day's notice, Taylor Swift has dropped another album – evermore (2020).


Wow. Where her past albums have all been a different style or change in direction or whatever, this one follows on directly from folklore. That is not to say it is a re-hash of that album. It is more an evolution. It is, if anything, a little more eclectic, poppy in places, country in others, harkening back to her past while keeping an eye on the future, and…

Damn, she is really good!

Okay, there is one thing about it, though. I bought the digital version and it is 15 tracks long. The physical version apparently has two bonus tracks. That is a lot of music. Now, none of the tracks were bad – no, really, not one – but it did feel a little long. Apart from that… yeah, I really liked this.

Now, let's look at the tracks. The titles, you will notice, are all stylised with lower case letters (like the title of the album) – that is because that's the way they are written by Swift, just like with the folklore album. She claims she has taken to writing more and more fictionalised stories into her songs; as a writer, I don't care because her songwriting, especially her lyrics, in these two albums has been really strong.

I asked for more of the folklore Taylor Swift in my last review. I got what I asked for. I am a happy old man.

The tracks!

'willow' We open with guitars and gentle background instrumentation. The song is a love song, pleasant and leading on from folklore directly. It was also the only single dropped with a video, so she knew how to hook those impressed by the last album straight away.

'champagne problems' This has a depressing story – a woman rejects a marriage proposal, even though he was so sure of a positive response that he'd already told his family. This is a fine example of Swift's lyrical ability. But it's not just the words and the story she tells – her voice is wonderful here and the instrumentation does not overwhelm at all. This about the song and the singer, not fancy production. I wonder if that is why I am enjoying her albums this year – they are not produced to death. I really like this song.

'gold rush' The lyrics here are about a girl who feels intimidated by being with a guy who is desired physically by so many others. But the music is interesting. It harks back to 1989 a little with its pop stylings, and yet does not feel out of place here. It's like she's embracing her past and yet keeping it maturing along with everything else.

''tis the damn season' A Christmas song… but one more in the vein of The Pogues' 'Fairytale Of New York' , about two exes hooking up in a hometown over Christmas because there's nothing else. I am a sucker for un-Christmas Christmas songs and this fits into that. Slightly depressing, but a good track.

'tolerate it' A strange song lyrically, about a girl who I think is merely tolerated by her partner. This is like an older version of a few tracks from Red (e.g. 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'), but musically it is, again, a follow-on from folklore. Past and present combined nicely.

'no body, no crime' This track features members of Haim . This is Swift returning to her country roots… but this is a murder ballad! I am a sucker for these (thanks to Nick Cave), and this is a good addition to the death song oeuvre. A strong highlight here.

'happiness' There is a touch of depression about the music, but the lyrics are of hope: "There'll be happiness after you/But there was happiness because of you/ Both of these things can be true…" Interesting song.

'dorothea' Told from the point of view of a boy talking to a girl who has come home after becoming famous, and letting her know she is still accepted. Maybe this is Swift hoping for the same treatment from her friends… or maybe I'm projecting a story onto the writer, which is not a good thing to do. Another good track.

'coney island' This one features the band The National (whose Aaron Dessner helped produce all but one song on the album). An interesting lyrical conceit – the loss of a relationship is equated with not winning an award. Not sure if it works. but when Matt Berninger joins in the singing, this lifts to another decent song.

'ivy' A song about an affair (there were a couple of these on folklore as well), with a stunning metaphor that drives it all: "My house of stone, your ivy grows/ And now I'm covered in you…" The guitar and gentle snare drum also give this song a different feel.

'cowboy like me' Another country-tinged track, about two can-artists finding one another. The song was a little dull, to be honest, but it is lifted slightly by a guitar solo, brief though it is.

'long story short' And we add some more 1989 styled pop bits, though not too many. This is an interesting song lyrically – basically, it's her looking back and maybe regretting some things in her life, from relationships to fights. " Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things/ Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing…" I think this might not be one of her fictional pieces. Another highlight.

'marjorie' She sang about her mother on Lover, and here she sings about her deceased grandmother, and how she is still alive in Swift's memories, but there are regrets about the questions never asked. Her grandma, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer and snatches of her singing from old recordings are used as backing vocals. A really strong track.

'closure' While this is a good track, it does jar a little in comparison to the rest of the album. The backing track is odd, strange sounds and loops with a piano over the top and Swift's angry lyrics about an ex asking to be friends. Not sure what to make of this one. I think I'll have to listen to it away from the context of the album (like that track dedicated to Avicii on Clapton's Christmas album ).

'evermore'And we close the album with a track featuring Bon Iver (who was also on 'exile' from folklore). This song sees Swift saying she's been "down since July", but now there is a sense of optimism and hope. These two work so well together. A great way to close out this album.
Fifteen tracks, and again the strike rate was remarkably high. Like last time, I waited until I had listened to the album a few times before I wrote this, but not because of a bad album this month. In fact, the album I got before this one I should also write a review for… Anyway, it is a wonderful album. Is it as good as folklore? Sorry, not to my mind. Is it one of the best pop albums I have heard this year? Yes. Oh, yes. Both of Taylor Swift's releases in 2020 have been amazing, showing a maturity in writing and a change in stylings that make them stand out amongst the pack.

Look, it's simple – if you liked folklore, there is a very good chance you are going to like this as well. But if you did not quite "get" that album, then maybe this will be easier to get into. I said last time she is becoming one of the better songwriters of the current generation; again, she is proving that.

Yet again, I am recommending a Taylor Swift album. AC/DC followed by Taylor Swift… I think I may be going a little crazy…


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