What gets you in the mood for fall? Maybe it’s a Pumpkin Spice Latte, or lighting a fall-scented candle, or wearing your favorite sweater. For me, it’s playing some indie, folk, or acoustic music. Fall is the perfect season for slowed-down music that I normally wouldn’t listen to intentionally throughout the year. Niall Horan’s 2017 album Flicker is a great example of the perfect fall album, mostly composed of slower, guitar-based folk-pop songs. However, 2020 has given the world a new classic album for autumn. This summer, Taylor Swift surprise-dropped her eighth album Folklore and has stayed in the top 10 of Billboard’s 200 Album chart ever since.
Folklore broke the internet when it was released in July with less than a day’s notice. The 17-track album came less than a year after her seventh studio album Lover, which came out on August 23, 2019. On July 24, the day of Folklore’s release, Taylor tweeted “in isolation, my imagination has run wild and this album is the result.” At the time of its release, it seemed out of place compared to other summery pop songs and albums. This album felt like it was produced and sung by a completely different side of the iconic pop star that is Taylor Swift, a side we had never heard and didn’t think we needed to hear. However, with the arrival of fall, it couldn’t be more fitting.
If you haven’t been a fan of Taylor because of her previous work, this album could change your mind. The songs aren’t too loud or overpowering and are even a great source of background music for studying. Below I’ll be reviewing five of my favorite songs, but each of the 17 is incredible vocally, lyrically, and musically in their own ways.
- the 1
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“The” 1 is a strong first track, and definitely one of my favorites of the album. It is reminiscent of Taylor’s classic style that made her famous-petty breakup songs. Even the instrumental is catchy and compelling with its folk elements, but the lyrics are really what makes this song stand out. Although Swift has been in a relationship with Joe Alwyn for more than three years, “the 1” expresses her wishes to have ended up with someone else. Lyrics such as ‘if my wishes came true, it would have been you,’ make it clear that this song is about one of her past relationships, as she questions how her life would have been different if this person was “the one.” The first track usually sets the tone of the album, so hearing this song right away causes the listener to question who and what this album is about. Will it be an album confessing her love for her partner-much like Lover, or will it be much darker, throwing punches at past exes?
- cardigan
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“Cardigan” is the lead single off Folklore and a strong contender for the best on the album. It has a bit of a darker sound, especially with the lyrics reflecting on a past relationship’s highs before its bitter end. Maybe it’s the rhythm that Taylor is singing to, but the song instantly gives you the feeling that you’re walking in a forest, surrounded by the trees decorated in autumn leaves. The lyrics “when they are young they assume you know nothing” are mysteriously captivating and are repeated throughout the song. During the third verse, Taylor sings “I knew everything when I was young.” Even if she didn’t know “anything,” she knew this person and knew the feeling she had for them. At the end of the song, you’ll wish you had a cardigan to pull on because this song can give you chills.
You can watch the video for “Cardigan,” which was directed by Swift, here.
- the last great american dynasty
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Swift has a talent for storytelling, especially through her lyrics. Swift herself claims that the song is about “a misfit widow getting gleeful revenge on the town that cast her out.” The majority of this song is in the third person, telling the story of a woman named Rebekah, until the bridge of the song. Swift sings “and then it was bought by me,” referring to “Holiday House,” the Rhode Island mansion that she bought from Rebekah. Suddenly, Taylor becomes the center of the song, claiming to have had a blast ruining everything in town and being a mad, loud woman. It’s a catchy, laid-back song that tells a great full-circle history lesson about the mansion Taylor currently owns. You can read about the history of the “Holiday House” here.
- mad woman
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This is a song that any woman can relate to if they’ve ever been told they are too emotional or out of control. “Mad Woman” is another excellent track, and has a very eerie, suspenseful sound similar to some of her previous work on Reputation. And it’s not just in the instrumentals, because right off the bat Taylor is throwing shade with her lyrics such as “does a scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill, and you know I will.” Fans speculate this is about Taylor’s battle with music manager Scooter Braun after he bought her previous label and rights to her first six albums. Overall, the story told through “mad woman” is the shady side of Taylor we know and love, but in a different sound and style. Some of my favorite lyrics are “everytime you call me crazy, I get more crazy, what about that” and “there’s nothing like a mad woman, what a shame she went mad.” It is a warning to people who gaslight a woman for her emotions or actions, and leaves you feeling haunted even after the song has ended.
- peace
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Despite the title, the lyrics to this track suggest anything but a peaceful relationship. Swift confronts her own flaws and the inability to give her lover solace. She is brutally honest, singing that “the rain is always going to come if you’re standing with me” no matter how hard she tries to keep the sunshine around. Although Swift is generally seen as perfect and put together, this song suggests that she feels she’ll never be perfect compared to her partner, and can’t provide the easy relationship they desire.
The success of Folklore, despite the lack of lead up and heavy promotion prior to its release, is telling. In one day, it achieved over 80 million streams-the highest ever for a female artist. In the US, it sold 846,000 copies, making her the first artist in US history to have seven albums sell more than 500,000 copies in a week. On the same week that Folklore was released (and debuted at number one), the lead single, “Cardigan” entered the Hot 100 at number one, Taylor Swift has raw talent, and doesn’t need the help of a label or PR team to break records. Heavy pop instrumentals are abandoned in favor of the piano and strings that come together to make a much softer sound.
In a world where the pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down, Folklore is comfort food in the form of music, and maybe one of the only “good” things to happen in 2020. It makes you want to stay at home, grab a cardigan, light some candles, and relax.
What are your favorite songs to listen to during Fall? I need some recommendations!