Folklore (Taylor Swift album)
Folklore is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was a surprise album, released on July 24, 2020, via Republic Records. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Swift canceled the concert tour for her seventh studio album Lover (2019). She conceived Folklore during quarantine as "a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness", working with producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff virtually; Dessner and Antonoff operated from recording studios in the Hudson Valley and New York City, respectively, while Swift recorded her vocals in a home studio at her Los Angeles residence.
Folklore
July 24, 2020
2020
- Conway (Los Angeles)
- Kitty Committee (Los Angeles)
- Electric Lady (New York City)
- Long Pond (Hudson Valley)
- Rough Customer (Brooklyn)
63:29
- Aaron Dessner
- Jack Antonoff
- Taylor Swift
- Joe Alwyn
Departing from the mainly upbeat pop production of its predecessors, Folklore consists of mellow ballads driven by piano, guitars, strings, and muted percussions, pursuing indie folk, alternative rock, and electro-acoustic styles. Influenced by the isolation of quarantine, Swift explores themes of escapism, empathy, nostalgia and romanticism in the album, using a set of characters, fictional narratives, and story arcs, in contrast to the autobiographical tone of her previous projects. The title was inspired by the lasting legacy of folk songs, whereas its visual aesthetic reflects cottagecore.
Upon release, Folklore topped the charts in various countries and is certified platinum or higher in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was Swift's seventh number-one album and spent eight weeks atop the US Billboard 200, and it became the best-selling album of 2020. Three of its tracks, "Cardigan", "The 1", and "Exile" featuring Bon Iver, reached the top 10 on music charts in eight countries, with the former becoming Swift's sixth number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Folklore received widespread critical acclaim that centered on its emotional weight, poetic lyricism, and relaxed pace. Critics found its introspective essence timely for the pandemic and regarded its sound a bold reinvention of Swift's artistry. The album was featured on numerous 2020 year-end rankings and nominated for several awards, and Rolling Stone included it in their 2023 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It won Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making Swift the first woman in history to win the honor three times. She discussed Folklore and performed it live in the Disney+ concert documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, premiering on November 25, 2020, and released Folklore's sequel record, Evermore (2020), two weeks later. Several artists cite Folklore as a source of inspiration.
Background[edit]
In April 2020, Taylor Swift was set to embark on a concert tour in support of her seventh studio album Lover (2019), which was cancelled following the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On July 23, 2020, nine photos were uploaded to Swift's Instagram account, all without captions, forming a black and white image of the singer standing alone in a forest. Subsequently, she made another post across all her social media accounts, announcing that her eighth studio album would be released at midnight; Swift stated: "Most of the things I had planned this summer didn't end up happening, but there is something I hadn't planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, Folklore". She confirmed the image as the album's cover artwork and revealed the track list.[2] The Wall Street Journal opined that the surprise announcement "caught fans and the music business off-guard".[3] Billboard stated that it "blindsided the pop music world", arriving as "exciting news" during lockdown.[4] Folklore was released eleven months after Lover—the fastest turnaround for a Swift studio album at the time, beating the one year and nine months gap between Reputation (2017) and Lover. In another post, Swift announced that the music video for the track "Cardigan" would release at the same time as the album.[5]
During the YouTube premiere countdown to the "Cardigan" music video, Swift hinted that the album lyrics contained many of her signature Easter eggs: "One thing I did purposely on this album was put the Easter eggs in the lyrics, more than just the videos. I created character arcs and recurring themes that map out who is singing about who... For example, there's a collection of three songs I refer to as the Teenage Love Triangle. These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people's perspectives at different times in their lives".[6] She referred to the album as "wistful and full of escapism. Sad, beautiful, tragic. Like a photo album full of imagery, and all the stories behind that imagery",[7] described "Cardigan" as a song that explores "lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently in our memories,"[8] and pointed-out the self-written track, "My Tears Ricochet", as the first song she wrote for the album.[7] Uproxx narrated, "on Thursday night, that hand-drawn 'T' and 'S' could be seen up and down the timeline. Music fans and critics across genres unveiled hot takes, quoted lyrics like Myspace teens writing on the back of textbooks or crafting the perfect AIM away message, and debated Folklore's place in the unimpeachable Taylor Swift canon."[9]