ACROSS seven albums, TAYLOR SWIFT flourished from girl next door to international superstar, but on Folklore she has left the bright lights of the showbiz world behind.
Gone is her polished pop sound with high production and belting choruses and in its place is a more reflective, rootsy and dream-like Taylor.
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Her eighth album, Folklore, which she wrote entirely in lockdown, it is soothing, soft and wistful, taking inspiration from her own tales as well as those of others.
Betty, with harmonica and acoustic guitar, is closest to the country sound which helped launch her career.
But the hour-long record is more closely linked to the sound of BON IVER, the US band who appear on the record’s highlight Exile.
The track shows off Taylor’s soaring vocals at their best in an emotional conversation with singer JUSTIN VERNON, who her voice fits perfectly with.
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Another highlight, Mad Woman, is the angriest it gets.
If it had brash production it wouldn’t have sounded out of place on 2017’s Reputation, but here it is more measured and mature, with soft percussion, guitars and passionate vocals.
She has pivoted entirely to make music which will be so soothing to millions of people as the world struggles with the lockdown in which it was written.
On Folklore, Taylor has never sounded so sublime.
FIVE STARS
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The superstar announced the album yesterday and along with the record today will also release the music video to her lead single, Cardigan.
She will go directly up against Kanye West, who’s new record also drops today.
And it seems Taylor is a dead cert for No1 across the globe as she’s announced sixteen different physical versions of Folklore, with eight on vinyl and eight on CD.
