Not gonna lie – I’ve been listening to Taylor Swift’s surprise release album Folklore. It’s so good.
I don’t feel like attempting a thorough analytical review of it that gives it justice. But I do want to share some musical style connections that some of the tracks immediately reminded me of because some really stuck out and can help make the experience even more fun exploring through the genres / subgenres Swift has experimented with in her “COVID-19 isolation album.”
the 1
I can’t stop listening to “the 1” – I keep getting stuck in a loop of “the 1” and “cardigan.”
With the gospel-ish, blues, and sort of funk influenced sound reminiscent of Rilo Kiley’s Under the Blacklight era, specifically “Give a Little Love” (YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud) and of course just like Swift’s own “Don’t Blame Me” being slow and sultry, it was an interesting take in breaking out to a new genre.
cardigan
There’s something about the percussion in “cardigan” and her singing cadence in the track that keeps making me think of the longing expressed in Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Hotel Shampoos” (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) from her very first country-ish album. Also – Swift’s own “Wildest Dreams” matches and feels like the right track to listen to right after “cardigan” with its dreamy ethereal singing of the chorus.
exile
Of course, the duet with Bon Iver titled “exile” re-awakens memories of 2009 and listening to “Skinny Love” on repeat while regretting ruining things with a woman I was what I would realize later in love with.
mirrorball
Feels very 90s like breathy tracks by The Cranberries (e.g. “Put Me Down” (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud). But also very Japanese Breakfast (who also has very strong 90s shoegaze, The Cranberries inspiration) “The Woman That Loves You” (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) or “Soft Sounds from Another Planet” (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) or maybe “Boyish” (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) – like a high school prom slow dance in Ghost World and/or Mitski’s “Once More to See You”
seven
I couldn’t stop listening to “seven” because it reminded me so much of “All of Me Wants All of You” by Sufjan Stevens (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) – one of his most devastatingly beautiful tracks off of the Carrie and Lowell album. It’s not just a track but a whole atmosphere of romance.
august
“august” starts with a very 90s soft guitar riff like The Sundays would begin a track (YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud) but also the slight temporary switch to her heartbeat and occasional sax notes pop style during the bridge ties it back to her Reputation and Lover (specifically “False God”) era albums.
P.S. My friend Jaclynn brilliantly pointed out that “the 1” is not just a reference to someone being “the one” but also a reference to what we colloquially call “PCH” for the “Pacific Coast Highway” but is officially the California State Route 1 that’s also referred to as “The 1” for short and which runs along the coast – through Big Sur. 😉