How many times have you wanted to sleep like a baby sleeping to lullaby but then keeps going back to those moments and memories that makes your nights longer and restless? Well I am here with one of the sweetest remedies that worked for me: FOLKLORE (2020) by Taylor Swift. 

         There is no doubt that Taylor Swift has been recognized as one of the most versatile and successful pop stars since a decade or more. And her songs too, have always been lovable to people. Taylor welcomed her ‘not so marvellous year of 2020’ by writing songs in her home in complete isolation unexpectedly during the covid breakout. The result was Folklore . Moreover, the album was released all of a sudden by Swift with zero promotion.

          In contrast, the canny pop "Folklore" had another story to speak of, compared to its beloved precursors. Unlike in other albums, the narrations are more from the perspectives of characters that Swift created which indeed was a big deal to critics and swifties as her references in the past albums have always created speculations and criticism.  Folklore has seventeen tracks : the one, cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile(my bias track), my tears ricochet, mirrorball, seven, august, this is me trying, illicit affairs, invisible string, mad woman, betty, peace, hoax and the lakes.

        Commencing with 'the one', the first four tracks doesn't fail to give you a feeling of being wrapped around the safest arms. Here, the one appreciates the factual perks of youthful twenties through lines like “And if my wishes came true, it would've been you" . Next you are introduced to the lead track of Folklore, ‘cardigan’. The track begins with the sound of heels which inturn gives a glimpse of amazement. The song like the one, characterize youthful and free spirited love. When she goes “And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone's bed, you put me on and said I was your favourite ” you can feel the soul flicking element.  Now Taylor uses personification as a tool in the last stanza of her next track ‘the last great american dynasty’ just for the listeners to crack the relationship between herself and the character  ‘Rebekah’ in the song. This song is more of a story which you would enjoy as it is mixed with mild transitions of beats. The fourth track: Grammy nominated 'exile' is the standout track to me. The vocals beautifully portray the grief of two lovers parting ways. The blend of Taylor's soft vocal with Justin's manly hardcore voice adds to the element of complexity in their relationship which taylor intends to put out. Tracks like ‘mirrorball’, ‘august’ and  'seven' (named so since its the seventh track of the album) doesn't fail to keep up the listener's curiosity to keep going until the very end. Then comes the Eighth track 'this is me trying'  which is a cool and caressing breeze to all those people who are trying so hard to cope up with life even though they are caged in some or the other manner. I literally felt like trying after listening to the track. Now comes another very different and an outstanding track from the album ‘illicit affairs’. As the name suggests, Swift tries to put on a variety of emotions surrounding a person in an illicit affair, where the narrator is so in love but sees no future around. Lines in the high paced bridge like “ You showed me colors you know , I can't see with anyone else” and “ for you I would ruin myself, a million little times”  put forward the acute emotions that the narrator carries. Moving on, after smooth tracks like ‘invisible string' and 'mad woman' we have a sweet track coming up : 'Betty'. The song showcases a sweet teenage love triangle as in cardigan. But this time it is narrated by James ( a character made by Swift ). With smooth transitions, catchy lines and Taylor's innocently cute voice, no doubt that you are gonna fall for the song. After the very next track 'peace', comes my beloved 'hoax'. A stanza from the same - “ Stood on the cliffside screaming give me a reason, your faithless love is the only hoax I believe in” screams out the phase narrator is stuck in. The only hoax she believes is in his faithless love! I bet no one other than Swift can put soulful lyrical ideas like this along with near-to-perfect rhyming skills. Finally, you are in the lakes, reaching the very last page of Folklore!

         In short, embark on this beautiful journey and fall in love with Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner, Justin Vernon, Joe Alwyn and every bit of passion she puts into the album which was made on a very low-key basis, but ended up receiving a Grammy! Ironically, this is one of her most successful, and critically acclaimed work, personally one of my favourite. Are you ready to get high on the rollercoaster of emotions? I promise, as I complete writing this, my next step would be listening to Folklore! Looking forward, Love!

Image courtesy & Copyright: @Taylorswift