“evermore” — The Next Stage in the Evolution of Taylor Swift
By: Marko Milanovic
Tags: Evermore, Pop Music, Album Review, Taylor Swift, Country Music

“You didn’t even see the signs”, sang Taylor Swift, in “exile”, a cut off her 8th studio album “folklore”, released July 2020. Less than five months later, those words rang true, when completely out of the blue, Taylor dropped the news that she’s surprise-dropping another album in under 24 hours. As is usually the case with Taylor, the signs were there, but not even the most eagle-eyed fans thought 2 out-of-the-blue albums in 6 months were going to happen. It just happened too Swiftly (I’m sorry, I had to, it was too obvious. Please don’t stop reading.)

“not a lot going on at the moment”, Swift captioned this instagram post. What it, in fact, meant was: I’m finishing another album.

So while most of us in 2020 were busy trying to hold our lives together and binge watch whatever Netflix suggested, Main-pop-girl turned indie-folk-queen Taylor created two impeccable bodies of work, complete with her signature lyricism, gentle vocals and an exploration into some refreshing new sounds. (Not to mention a documentary on the making of folklore, as well as an acoustic version of the album. Oh, and she’s re-recording all of her back catalog)

So along came evermore, her official 9th studio album. With it, Taylor seeks to extend the world she created with “folklore”, sticking to the sounds that so clearly worked, gaining another Billboard Top 200 #1 album, Billboard Hot 100 #1 single and a plethora of awards (including the Rolling Stone songwriter of the year award, and 6 Grammy nominations). So the question is: how does folklore measure up to her previous work? Make yourself warm, grab your blankets and cardigans, cozy up with a cup of tea and let’s dig in.

Comparisons to folklore are, inevitably, there, but “evermore” certainly stands its ground as “folklore”’s sister project, as Taylor called it. The topics covered, the stories told and the writing are a little more mature. We’re moving from teenage love stories told throughout folklore, onto topics like broken engagements (champagne problems), infidelity (ivy) and even, very unexpectedly, murder (no body, no crime). Heartbreak, Taylor’s best songwriting companion, is still prevalent on the album in songs like closure, happiness and tolerate it. Considering she’s currently in what appears to be a very happy relationship, Taylor went on to let her imagination take over and invent fictional characters and narratives to write about. And it worked like a charm. It’s nothing short of mesmerizing, the way she perfected her craft writing about her personal experiences and stories, to the point where she can seamlessly apply it to fictional ones.

For this endeavor, Taylor kept working with The National’s Aaron and Bryce Desner and long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff. Also appearing in the credits is mystery collaborator “William Bowery”, unveiled to be Swift’s very own boyfriend, Joe Alwin. The National, Bon Iver and Haim take on a featuring role on 1 track each, and add a little bit of dynamic to the tracklist.

The entirety of the album is very atmospheric and it really draws the listener into the mystical world that Taylor created. However, similarly to Folklore, a casual listener, not delving into the lyrics, could be thrown off by the simplicity and gentleness of the music presented to them. It takes a focused listen to truly appreciate what Swift delivered. Each track is quite fantastic in its own way, but several songs stand out for various reasons.

Willow, the album opener and lead single, gives us a beautiful inviting melody over guitar strings, while singing about a complicated relationship with a lover, and surrendering to them completely (“Life was a willow and it bend right to your wind”)

Another absolute standout comes in the form of “no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)”. Written solely by Swift, performed alongside the Haim sisters, the song is a murder-mystery in the form of song, and can easily be proclaimed as one of her best. Musically, on the other side, it’s a twang-y, western, country track. The genre lends itself very nicely to the narrative nature of the lyrics, where we encounter a series of revelations of infidelity and murder. One of Taylor’s best songwriting qualities is her usage of repetitiveness to advance the storyline of the song. With each chorus, the lyrics change ever-so-slightly, to bring a new part of the story to life.

“I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it” / “she thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it” / “They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it”

Dorothea: A tale of old lovers, one of whom went on to be a big-city success, while the other stayed in the small hometown, and wishing they could be reunited. The song acts as a letter to a missed love, offering comfort and familiarity to a famous Dorothea, who’s now featured on covers of magazines. It’s a beautiful track, full of nostalgia and hopefulness, backed by a wonderful combination of piano and guitar.

The BPM increases ever-so-slightly on “long story short”, a cute, fun story about finding love, and the road that leads there, including multiple mistakes

“long story short, it was a bad time” / “long story short, it was the wrong guy” / “long story short, i survi-ived”

As any Swiftie knows, the Easter eggs, curiosities and links between songs are very common in Taylor-world, and one of the most prominent examples of this, comes in the form of “marjorie”. Track 13 on the album (famously, Swift’s favorite number) is an ode to Taylor’s late grandmother, opera singer Marjorie Finlay. Featuring some lessons learned from her family member, and musical inspiration, Taylor preaches “Never be so kind you forget to be clever, never be so clever you forget to be kind.” Now where is the easter egg, you might ask? Looking back at folklore, taking a peek at track 13, you can find “epiphany”, inspired by experiences of Swift’s veteran grandfather.

There’s no doubt whatsoever that the album hides more secrets, which fans are rushing to uncover (Is there a trilogy in the works?), but until that happens, evermore is an absolute recommendation for anyone willing to sit down and experience a great body of work from a true artist who’s pushing herself to new horizons, over a decade into her career.