Into The Woods.
Grown folk, 'Man Of The Woods', Justin Timberlake took it to the trees, but still danced in a pair of Timbaland's for his last country inspired album in 2017 for his rep. Now the country come diamond pop superstar like legend Shania Twain, Taylor Swift is going back to her roots for her grounded and most groundbreaking album...let alone her most personal project to date (and she took it to the tabloids for her 'Reputation' to gossip folks in 2017 too), in the amazingly atmospheric 'Folklore'. We're not out of the woods yet like COVID-19 in this terrible 2020 that began with the tragic death of her friend Kobe Bryant (who presented Swift with her own STAPLES banner for most sold out live shows in the building that Mamba rocked. She has that prolific project mentality too) and his daughter GiGi and their friends and teammates, but Tay Tay is back to save the day. Not even a full calendar since her last album (the pure pop of last years 'Lover' smash that took her back to the top of the charts like '1989' or 'Red' for one of her best that showed her and the billboard will always, forever and ever get back together). Quarantined and locked down, staying safe at home in the studio at a social distance in the wilderness. Surprise motherf##### like Dave Chappelle said, when others are bum rushing the world's internet stage announcing their running for President (but please someone look out for Kanye...we're not making this a tired thing here), Swift is dropping, "unexpectedly like bird s###." Doing it B.I.G. like the Notorious one. In a year dominated by 'Women In Music' from Norah Jones to Lianne La Havas and so much rock and soul in-between (and we still have new ones from Alicia Keys and Lana Del Rey to come) this is Part III after Lady Gaga's age of 'Chromatica' space pop, interplanetary neon roots and the best album of the year in the sisterhood of Haim's California Summer classic that now has some competition like the Lakers and Clippers in the Florida Disney World Bubble 'till it all bursts.
"In isolation my mind has run wild and this album is the result", she took to Twitter as on the eve of its released she announced exactly that, just like that. "I've told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder and whimsy they deserve. Now it's up to you to pass them down." And oh how we will. It's all they deserve and the least we can do streaming like the tears that probably watered these creations. For all the 'Red' and 'Reputation' big-sellers my Swift lovers this is her classic cut like her '89 birthright. Welcome to her new world...it's been waiting for you. Let her along with The National and Justin Vernon be your tour guide lost in the woods like building a sill. Oh and you want to slow down time? The awesomely atmospheric Bon Iver is in the cabin for this album. Taylor Swift and Bob Iver on the same track what do you think about that? That's worthy of the price of hype admission in itself and this 'Exile' is one of the best tracks to date...of either artist as they sing, "I think I've seen this film before." But there's nothing quite like this as Vernon's verse sings, "I can see you standing, honey/With his arms around your body/Laughin', but the joke's not funny at all/And it took you five whole minutes/To pack us up and leave me with it/Holdin' all this love out here in the hall," as Swift counters, "I can see you starin' honey/Like he's just your understudy." Or how about the thread of the lead single 'Cardigan' and one of her best cuts yet as she iconically pushes a piano down a Springsteen river with a hungry heart like the ties that bind on a waterlogged piece of heavy knitwear. Feeling "like an old cardigan under someone's bed", this will have you, "dancin' in your Levis" Like Strauss as Tay's wordplay is back swiftly. But for all the, "heartbreak on the Highline," and verses of value like, "vintage tee, brand new phone/High heels on cobblestones/When you are young, they assume you know nothing/Sequined smile, black lipstick/Sensual politics/When you are young, they assume you know nothing", for the best garment song since we pulled the thread on Weezer's blue 'Sweater' as they walked away. It's the lasting lines of, "you drew stars around my scars/But now I'm bleeding", that will remain in her personal great American country notebook for many generations of songwriting to come like Dolly or Miley, as the pop icon of pop stars comes in and returns like a wrecking ball like the stadiums that can't hold gigs right now in concert. Save the music venue.
Tall trees to the bark beneath your feet, this album in black and white is all about themes explored like the great beyond. Past the natural order of things like a self-tiled portrait of 'Lianne La Havas' getting over a 'Bittersweet' break-up. "It started with imagery," she added with character to Twitter. "Visuals that popped into my mind and piqued my curiosity." Just like, "a cardigan that still bears the scent of loss twenty years later." Can't wash that out of wool. "Battleships sinking into the ocean, down, down, down", like a Tom Hanks 'Greyhound' or how 'My Tears Richochet', as Swift sinks ours singing, "I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace / And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves / You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same." "The tree swing in the woods of my childhood", were no longer feeling 22 or 'Seventeen', Swift peaks at 'Seven', "with Pennsylvania under me." "Hushed tones of," let's run away" and never actually doing it". For in your defense, not having one for, "never leaving well enough alone" (*hands up* GUILTY) looking for 'The 1'. "The sun drenched month of 'August', sipped away like a bottle of wine". Or 10 out of 10 like Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast ('Always Tomorrow' Cali' classic like a hotel in that state starting the year off as right as it could be) tweeted for this entanglement. "A mirrored disco ball hovering above a dance floor", for 'Mirrorball', the most shimmering track. It just 'Back To The Future' feels like a prom...watch out! That might be your Mum, Mary! "A whiskey bottle beckoning" like "pouring my heart out to a stranger" on 'This Is Me Trying'. "They told all my cages were mental/So I got wasted like all my potential," could be the words to a millennial anthem of lost dreams and broken promise. "Hands held through plastic", like being perspex phone guilty of being imprisoned in 'Illicit Affairs'. Or, "a single thread that, for better or for worse ties you to your fate," like the beautiful 'Invisible String' that's there like the epic 'Epiphany', no 'Hoax' ("you know I left a part of me in New York" she sings, showing what's left is her best), of all this perfect 'Peace'. But it's when Taylor gets her countryside storytelling on like the 'Mad Woman' or 'Betty' (bamalam) that she gets her most personal and profound like 'The Last Great American Dynasty' like Getty as Swift chases down Dylan's 17 minute take on the JFK assassination for his 'Murder Most Foul' closer he wrote like Lansbury on his latest 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' last month with a story about a girl called Rebekha. "A tale that becomes folklore is one that is passed down and whispered around. Sometimes sung about." Like she said on the album announcements prologue introduction, "before this year I probably would've overthought when to release this music at the 'perfect' time, but the times we're living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That's the side of uncertainty I can get on board with." Amen to that. Now that's a message we can and should really take to heart in a disheartening to say the very least 2020. We've still got time left. Time to make it better. Taylor Swift album releases are always epic events-I remember someone getting sacked for playing 'Reputation' too early-but none have ever been as special-especially in these times-as this. And none quite as great. 'Folklore' is law. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Playlist Picks: 'The Last Great American Dynasty', 'Exile (Feat. Bon Iver)', 'August'.
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