On Dec. 11, Taylor Swift dropped a surprise album, evermore, the sister album to her previous album, folklore, which was released in July of this year. In evermore, Swift continues her theme of mythology and storytelling. Like folklore, evermore will give fans more coordinated music videos, photoshoots, and live/virtual shows. evermore includes collaborations with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, The National, and Jack Antonoff. 

The heart of evermore is storytelling songs. Unlike folklore’s teenage love triangle storyline, Swift introduces her listeners to a woman who breaks up with her college sweetheart the night he planned to propose, two con artists who fall in love in “cowboy like me”, and a Hollywood star. 

Swift’s songs go in many directions in evermore. While the moody, indie feel, also present in folklore, is the dominant sound, there was room for more variety and experimentation in it’s sister album. Incredible tracks include “No Body No Crime”, a song about a country murder, and “gold rush”, a pop track about the torments of being in a relationship with a famous person.

Swift somewhat references her original country sound in “Dorothea,” and distorting her voice in “closure,” featuring Bon Iver. “Majorie,” arguably the albums centerpiece, is a brilliant and heartbreaking track about Swift’s late grandmother, and captures the tragedy of losing a loved one while you’re too young to understand their worth, and the lifelong ache that follows.

Fan favorites include “tolerate it”, a devastating song about a once passionate love turned lukewarm at best, and “champagne problems”, about a woman who declines her college lovers proposal due to her mental illness, which everyone around her dismisses as a champagne problem, or a small problem that is only important to her. Interestingly enough, Taylor wrote “champagne problems” with her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, working as his alter ego William Bowery. 

Yet, some songs on evermore feel like leftovers from folklore. One song, “willow”, seems unfinished to some listeners, and “ivy,” while pretty, is aimless. The album closes with reference to one of folklore’s high points, the emotional Bon Iver duet “exile,” with another song featuring Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. However, in “evermore” Swift and Vernon fail to connect the way they did in “exile.” 

Throughout the album, Swift never fails to prove herself as an incredible lyricist. What comes so effortlessly to Swift takes entire careers for many songwriters to try and write, which is the least surprising thing about evermore, which has us lost in our feelings all over again.