Evermore
| Taylor Swift
Evermore
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her ninth studio album—Evermore—on December 11, 2020. Published by Republic Records, this album came out as a surprise to fans just five months after her last Album, Folklore. A spontaneous release, Evermore is the creative love-child of Swift’s collaboration with Folklore co-produced Aaron Dessner.
Swift has described Evermore as being a folklorist woods offshoot. The album is interspersed with somber pianos, fingerpicked guitars, lavish strings, and sparse percussions to create a wintry vibe. The songs incorporate folk-pop, chamber rock, and alternative rock sounds, building an impressionist form of mythopoeia and storytelling surrounding themes of love, grief, and marriage. Read more about critic reviews of Taylor Swift’s Evermore here!
Critic Reviews
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Slant Magazine
With Evermore, Taylor Swift Further Refines Her Expanding Narrative Voice.
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The Line of Best Fit
There are plenty of new things to enjoy too – from the rather lovely country-folk gleam of “dorothea”, which is titled like a Grateful Dead song and sounds a bit like their sedate moments too, to the languid piano groove of “cowboy like me”.
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The Guardian
On her richly resonant second album of the year, Swift dabbles with country noir and dives into the world of unbalanced relationships.
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Paste Magazine
Taylor Swift’s evermore Is folklore’s Charismatic Companion.
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Sputnik Music
it is a shame that we will likely remember this record as little more than a secondary iteration of that time Taylor Swift went indie in 2020.
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DIY Magazine
Both albums showcase Taylor as an unrivalled lyrical force.
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The Irish Times
This ‘secret wedding album’ sweetly sweeps you away.
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Clash Magazine
Beautiful maturity from one of pop's foremost voices.
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Stereogum
Like folklore, evermore is an expert piece of restorative old-school singer-songwriter music. Swift has stepped into a new lane, and she has conquered it.
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Cherwell
evermore is just the latest piece of evidence in a long line of conquered musical genres that makes it clear that, as far as the music industry goes, Taylor Swift’s position is unapologetic, incomparable and irreplaceable.
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The Post
Whereas Folklore seems like an exploration into experimentation, Evermore feels more sophisticated, curated and rounded as an album. With Evermore, Swift is continually growing and learning more about herself as a songwriter, and listeners are lucky enough to ride along on that adventure.
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The Independent
Full of haunting tales that transform speakers into campfires.
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The Spokesman-Review
Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’ is vivid, impactful and echoes ‘Folklore’.
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South China Morning Post
Taylor Swift’s second surprise album of 2020 is more than we deserve.
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The Times
second surprise album chimes with the mood of the moment.
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Evening Standard
Taylor’s back with Folklore’s ‘sister record’ - and yet again she’s delivered an unexpected delight.
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Contact Music
As expected, Evermore follows in very much the same vein as Folklore; it's largely stripped-back, steeped in warmth and comfort, and while it's nothing groundbreaking, you get the sense that Taylor Swift has been massively enjoying getting back to her more acoustic roots. Even the explicit language suggests a more relaxed, raw songwriting process. This is the chill-out album we needed to round off this stressful year.
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Stereoboard
In ‘Folklore’ and now ‘Evermore’ Swift has rediscovered some old tools (see the country lilt of Cowboy Like Me) and unearthed new ways of pushing herself as a songwriter. Together they make a masterful double feature.
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Mashable
Taylor Swift's 'evermore' is a bright note for a dark year.
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The Upcoming
It may be less distinct than its predecessor, but Evermore is a timelessly impressive sequel. The collaborations and harmonies with Bon Iver and The National work masterfully, with more alt-rock exploration and a non-polished finish. Minimalist and escapist, it’s perfect for winter listening whilst wrapped up in a blanket drinking hot chocolate. This record, which arrived like an early Christmas present, is an unexpected but welcome way to spend the end of the year.
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Palatinate
It’s the perfect album for a year like 2020.
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The Telegraph
a dramatic excursion down musical roads less travelled.
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Pop Goes the Weasel
‘Evermore’ is a wonderful festive treat.
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Rolling Stone
Taylor Swift Deepens Her Goth-Folk Vision on the Excellent ‘Evermore’.
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USA Today
It's the kind of lyric that many songwriters would spend entire careers trying to write, telling us all we need to know about this character's emotional state. That it comes so effortlessly to Swift is the least surprising thing about "Evermore," which has us – gorgeously, gratefully – lost in our feelings all over again.
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Los Angeles Times
“Evermore,” in a first for Swift, simply repeats its predecessor’s trick, which means the new album’s tunes must stand on their own.
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The New York Times
The sonic details of “Evermore” are radiant and meticulous; the songwriting is poised and careful. It’s an album to respect. But with all its constructions and conceits, it also keeps a certain emotional distance.
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New York Post
it’s still a true artist getting real when the world needs it. And you can’t be mad at that.
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Pitchfork
Working again with Aaron Dessner, Swift challenges herself to find new dimensions within the moody atmosphere: fingerpicked ballads, colorful pop music, and her first country songs in years.
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People
Taylor Swift Continues Weaving Musical Magic on Exquisitely Introspective Evermore.
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NME
It’s a sentiment of hope for the future to finish a pair of albums created in the mess that has been this year.
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AV Club
Taylor Swift's latest is even better than folklore.
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PopMatters
Taylor Swift Has Written the Best Music of Her Career with 'evermore' and 'folklore'.
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The Sydney Morning Herald
Taylor Swift is back, stronger than ever before.
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NPR
Taylor Swift Does It Again (And Again) On 'Evermore'.
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Loud and Quiet
Ultimately, the kaleidoscopic brilliance of 1989 reminds us that Swift’s at her best when she’s trying on different hats across the same album – territory to which she’ll surely return once the world is the right way up again. Until then, evermore provides a handsome, bare-bones platform for her ability as a songwriter. ’Tis the damn season.
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Atwood Magazine
To me, evermore and folklore both reflect 2020 in the way that the whole folky, cabin in the woods aesthetic is tapping into that need of nature that’s been felt with the quarantine. Also there’s a large fictitious quality to the songwriting and so the overall effect is like delving into the worlds in a fairytale style novel- appropriate given a lot of people have probably been spending more time with their heads in books this year.
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The Washington Post
It all ends up feeling like a hug that lasts too long.
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The Ringer
There’s Nothing Shocking About Taylor Swift’s New Surprise Album.
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Buzzfeed
Taylor Swift's creativity thrives on her second album of 2020, but it's not only her freedom — it’s ours, too.
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Beats Per Minute
Not everything on evermore truly works or lands satisfyingly, but it’s all part of a creative process that is producing some of her best and most surprising work to date. And considering portions of the world are still dealing with lockdown and are isolating ahead of returning home for Christmas, it still certainly feels like the best “worst time” to be making music like this.
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Glamour
the album is here, and it's incredible.
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Teen Vogue
Taylor Swift is an expert at creating lyrics with two contexts: the story she’s telling and the story she’s telling. Her new album evermore has those moments in spades, but the crucial one comes on “gold rush,” a thudding Jack Antonoff collab about having feelings for someone who is so utterly dazzling it’s a drawback: “My mind turns your life into folklore.”
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Riot Magazine
This is certainly the album that comes closest to the folk-pop style of her teenage years. And it makes sense that this year was one in which Swift might have a homecoming. But, since discovering this place on folklore, Swift has had time to make a house into a home. We should be thankful that she stumbled upon the “folklorian woods” this year. And we should be thankful she stopped in for as long as she did.
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Daily Bruin
Swift’s ninth studio album is an escapist fantasy almost as enticing as its counterpart.
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Wales Arts Review
At its best, evermore soars. Perhaps it’s Swift’s country background but her lyrics are at their brightest when rooted in a coherent narrative.
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Gigwise
thanks to Taylor and her whimsical and terrifyingly brilliant brain, it feels safe to say 2020 was not a complete waste: it brought us this body of work that was created in large part due to isolation and meant to be listened to as a form of comfort. It was real enough to get us through, and thank god for it.
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Esquire
Swift indicated that evermore is intended as a “sister record” to folklore, but while this album is clearly an extension of the shimmery indie-rock/singer-songwriter direction unveiled on the previous record, it’s definitely not just leftovers from those sessions; it stands on its own as yet another triumph in a remarkable career. If it’s less consistent than folklore, it’s also looser, experimental, both softer and louder, chilly and warm—ever more.
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Vinyl Chapters
A wonderful ‘sister album’ cementing Taylor Swift as the fantastic artist she is.
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Star Tribune
Taylor Swift's surprise new album is ever-good.
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The Daily Beast
The surprise follow-up to “folklore” takes the melancholy and emotional ennui of Swift’s first pandemic album and enriches it even more—just when we needed to feel it the most.
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The Boar
folklore and evermore are sweet sister albums, full of vivid imagery and tales, released at a time where music may have more importance than ever. Who knows where 2021 will take us, but perhaps we should now expect the third part to this album saga in the new year.
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Thomas Bleach
From start to finish ‘evermore’ is a captivating listen of pure emotions and stellar storytelling. There are a couple of moments that don’t stand out as explicitly as others, but this record is intended to be listened from start to finish with your full attention, and that’s what it deserves. There’s no point trying to compare it to ‘folklore’, and instead we should just appreciate the continuation in this beautiful storytelling.
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The Atlantic
It’s a writing exercise gone wrong, and from most musicians, it could be played once and then forgotten.
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