![]() Here Taylor sacked off her country roots and embraced full-blown pop. ‘1989’ is a masterclass in how to make a timeless pop record. It’s a dazzling, surprising album, brimming with career-best moments, and heralded a brave new direction for the pop star. And there’s what Swift has called The Teenage Love Triangle, a trio of songs (‘Betty’, ‘Cardigan’ and ‘August’) that explore a knotty romance from three people’s perspectives. The spectacular ‘The Last Great American Dynasty’ describes the life of American artist Rebekah Harkness (whose Rhode Island house Swift bought in 2013) with vivid descriptive lyrics. ![]() ![]() Yet it’s the lyricism that makes ‘Folklore’ such an astonishing album, with Swift writing both from her own point of view, as well as exploring other people’s. There’s a Bon Iver collaboration, too: melancholy duet ‘Exile’, a slow-burning number which eventually erupts into chattering layered vocals and euphoric strings at the climax. The brooding production glitches and glitters, embracing the indietronica that’s permeated the last few The National records. Teaming up with The National’s Aaron Dessner (who worked on 11 of the 16 songs) and long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff, it’s a stunning collection of modern folk songs. It’s not just the shock drop that felt different, though, as musically it saw Swift dive head-first into a new sonic palette of wistful indie-folk. Casting aside the usual lengthy album campaigns or meticulously planned drip-feeding of singles, T-Swiz uncharacteristically announced ‘Folklore’ the day before it was released. Swift’s surprise eighth album arrived with very little fanfare. ‘Red’ paints a picture of a Swift evolving, fusing her earlier sound with sleek production and killer hooks, and eight years on it remains a hugely enjoyable listen. Painting the picture of an unravelling relationship, it gradually crescendos, climaxing in the gut-punch couplet of “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest”. But it’s ‘All Too Well’ that’s the finest moment on ‘Red’, and possible the greatest song Swift has ever written. Meanwhile, ‘The Last Time’ (featuring Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody) showed a more mature sound with its grandiose alt-rock guitars and soaring melodies. ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’, with its swift-step breakdown, saw her signature sound infused with trendy dance production (and let’s be honest, it slaps). The brilliantly snarky ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ (Swift’s first ever Billboard 100 number one) and fizzing ’22’ are stone-cold smashers. On ‘Red’, Swift began her transition from country crossover artist to creating glossy, mainstream pop.
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