rough notes on evermore

I’ve listened to it all of twice, so here’s the hot take: evermore is a bold statement from a confident artist. I love folklore, but I think this will end up being the more interesting record.

The collaborators may be the same, and the instrumentation may sound the same, but let’s be clear: these aren’t folklore b-sides. These songs are the product of someone who loved the work they had produced and wanted to go further. From all of the things she’s shared about the record, it’s clear that she found herself in a place where she knew she had more to do, more to give…and so just went and did that.

I read last night in a tweet from Nathan Hubbard (his whole thread is worth reading) that she finished recording the last track on the album LAST WEEK. But nothing on here feels rushed, nothing feels half-finished. evermore feels of a piece, complete. There are tracks where she’s clearly pushing herself, whether it’s the nuanced story telling of “champagne problems” (co-written with her partner Joe Alwyn) or the 5/4 time signature and drum machines in “closure.”

As if releasing two quarantine albums isn’t enough, Swift is in the process of re-recording all of her earlier albums. We got a taste of “Love Story” in that ad for Match; her voice on that snippet sounded stronger than it did 2008. I can’t wait to hear the rest of them….and what else comes next. Swift’s on fire right now, and I am very much here for all the light and heat she’s throwing off.