Given all the chaos of 2020, Taylor Swift offers an escape through her alluring new music. Swift released yet another surprise album following the release of “folklore” Dec. 11. 

“Evermore” perfectly embodies Swift’s poetic writing alongside woodsy, mystical acoustics.

She has a special talent for creating a vivid and emotional scene for each song. Every song is a story of its own. In “Ivy,” Swift describes an affair between a man and a married woman. She sings this story in such a gentle voice which fits the poetic writing of this song. 

In “long story short” Swift blends haunting lyrics with upbeat acoustics. Morbid lyrics are presented in such a light note that you don’t quite realize how dark they are until you read them. I love this contrast and I love how she can pull it off so well. 

With the release of “evermore” Swift ventures further into the alk-folk scene, distancing herself from the peppy pop of her past albums. In “cowboy like me” this is most evident. For this song, Swift brings back some of her long-lost country vocals. The last time she’s released anything like this was almost a decade ago. This sound really suits her and I am glad she’s gone back to it.

My favorite song in the album is the opening track, “willow.” This song is both beautifully written and catchy. The score at the beginning of the song is almost spell-binding in its peaceful rhythm. “willow” does a wonderful job of setting the tone for the rest of the album. Through its enticing tune, “willow” transfers you into the mystical setting of “evermore.” 

Although I do love this album, I have one problem with “evermore”: all the songs sound nearly the same. Every song has its own story and personality but lacks vocal and acoustic individuality. The repetitive nature of this album gets a bit old as you continue listening. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between songs. 

Despite its lack of variety, Taylor Swift’s “evermore” has proved itself another triumph. I adore this album and would recommend it to anyone who likes Swift. 

“Evermore” : ★★★★★