Taylor Swift - folklore (Review)
No, whilst Swift has made many bold strides forward throughout her career, making folklore isn't one of them, having proved herself capable of selling intimate guitar-and-vocal tracks throughout her career. That said, it was certainly a risk releasing an entire album in that style, the large gap between this and mainstream pop posing uncertainty at the success she would have with the sound, but it's a risk that payed off. Now, its chart success notwithstanding, just how much of accomplishment is folklore, particularly when compared to Swift's seven other albums?
Despite boasting some of her most emotional content, as well as the best narrative arcs of her career, I think it has to be said that this is not as engaging of a listen as most of her previous albums. I have some major issues with this album structurally, not least due to the ridiculous length. When will Taylor learn to stop making her albums an hour long? Even on an album as lyrically detailed as this, she just doesn't have enough to say to fill that timespan, and the middle of the album in particular drags long, songs like "august", "mirrorball", and "seven" all failing to stand out amongst better songs with similar stories to tell, losing my attention with their pretty but indistinctive melodies, the gorgeously understated tone of the album becoming its Achilles heel.
Now, Taylor Swift detracting from an increased impact she might have had by overstuffing her albums is nothing new, but, when compared to her last album Lover, it comes across as far longer than it actually is due to how homogenous the style of the album is, each song pertaining to the same piano or guitar-lead sparse instrumentals, mostly lacking in bass and relying almost entirely on Swift having enough to say for the song to be interesting. With Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff on production for the whole album, they clearly do what they can to create a genuinely beautiful atmosphere, but with an album so focused on minimalism there's only so much producers as talented as themselves can do within the realm of accessibility that Swift is confined to, and as a result the music is presented in a state of perfection, but one that's arguably quite shallow given the lack of any instrumental depth or ambition. This isn't particularly helped by the programmed drums that emerge on some of the songs ("the 1"), a cheap sounding contrast to the album's organic vibe.
Another issue with such instrumental homogeny is the severe lack of true standouts on the album. This isn't necessarily due to how many of the song's blend together, although that could certainly be argued in its own right, but more the fact that the song's all exist within a pretty thin band of quality, ranging from bland and weightless to emotional and very good, with nothing exceeding either marker. By contrast, Lover was characterised by its incredibly accomplished highs and devastating, embarrassing lows, far and away a more inconsistent release, but also one that was consequently more engaging and interesting than folklore ever is. No, folklore doesn't have any particularly bad songs, but it also only has two songs that I can see sticking with me in the long run.
As many problems as I have with the album, I do still enjoy several of the tracks here, from the wonderfully executed two-sided-story of "exile" to the the burdened but optimistic "this is me trying"; they may fail to match the highs of previous albums but they're the best demonstration of Taylor Swift moving forward rather than sideways, especially on an album where much of the change is lateral. Overall, I can't in all honesty call this one of Taylor Swift's best albums, with too many factors holding it back from greatness. That said, I see a lot of potential in Swift with this style, and I hope she continues to pursue it.
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