SWIFT’S SLICK GIFT
Taylor Swift drops a solid and soulful surprise album
WHEN you’re a pop superstar on the level of Taylor Swift — living in that rarefied air only shared by the likes of Adele and Beyou don’t do anything yoncé — small.
So instead of releasing a deluxe edition of “Folklore” — her surprise release in July that’s become the best-selling LP of 2020 — the 30year-old “Shake It Off ” singer dropped an entire “sister” album, “Evermore,” out of nowhere at midnight on Friday.
Arriving at the beginning of Hanukkah, two weeks before Christmas and two days before the star’s birthday on Sunday, it’s the ultimate gift for Swifties.
Consider your stocking stuffed. But whereas “Folklore” came as a revelation — its moody, alt-folk intimacy a radical departure from the peppy pop of Swift’s 2019 “Lover” album — “Evermore” is, well, more of the same.
That’s not to say it’s a bad thing — certainly not if the quarantine chill of “Folklore” was your jam. It’s just that, like most sequels, it doesn’t measure up to the original. “The Godfather, Part II,” it isn’t. If anything, “Evermore” brings to mind when Justin Timberlake released “The 20/20 Experience — 2 of 2,” just six months after dropping “The 20/20 Experience” in 2013. The best stuff — “Suit & Tie,” “Mirrors” — went on the first album; the second one got the outtakes.
But with the artistic heights that Swift reached on “Folklore,” which received six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, even her leftovers are solid, if not stellar. No doubt, T-Swizzle was in her singer-songwriter zone on 2020 lockdown.
The National’s Aaron Dessner, who produced and co-wrote much of “Folklore,” returns for even more duty here. In fact, his band — with vocals by lead singer Matt Berninger — is featured on the wistful “Coney Island.”
There are even more songwriting appearances by “William Bowery,” her secret name for boyfriend Joe Alwyn.
Meanwhile, sister act Haim appears on “No Body, No Crime,” a dark tale shadowed with suspicions of infidelity and murder. But the Chicks might have given this one more of an edge.
Elsewhere, “Dorothea” and “Marjorie” add to the catalog of character songs that Swift is building. On the latter, she kicks some meme-worthy wisdom: “Never be so polite, you forget your power/Never wield such power, you forget to be polite.” Word.
The title track is another haunting, piano-laced beauty with Bon Iver following their “Folklore” joint, “Exile.” They just need to do a whole album together already.
As with “Folklore,” it’s not about splashy singles on “Evermore.” It’s a vibe, though.
While industry cynics might think that Swift released “Evermore” just in time to boost her Grammy chances for “Folklore” (or to boost her bank account with no touring in 2020 and the uncertainty of any future road haul), this album is still that of a true artist getting real when the world needs it. And you can’t be mad at that.