Evermore by Taylor Swift // 5 Year Anniversary Album Review
٠࣪⭑ "I was catching my breath, floors of a cabin creaking under my step and I couldn't be sure, I had a feeling so peculiar, this pain wouldn't be for evermore" ⋆˚࿔ Taylor Swift released the stunning evermore 5 years ago today and it remains perhaps the most important creative chapter of her career thus far. It was her second surprise album of 2020, following folklore in the summer, which took her in a deeply poetic and introspective songwriting direction. Written through that period of isolation in the pandemic, she stepped back into the folklorian woods to continue to explore so many facets of her life through a narrative storytelling approach. Some rooted in her real life, others rooted in fictional stories, these songs brought such comfort through that time for so many.
folklore feels like the embodiment of spring and summer, an album that is full of whimsy and nostalgia. In contrast, evermore is its fall and winter counterpart. It approaches the same period of isolation and quarantine through a harsher, more desolate lens, carrying a heavier sadness overall. The sequencing of evermore mirrors and expands upon much of the themes of folklore in such an intricate way. The placements within the tracklist itself play an important role in how these two albums function as companions. evermore works alongside folklore as a continuation of the same conversations, yet it still manages to carve out its own identity in her discography as a darker, more shadowed reflection of the same musical universe.
As the second of two albums Taylor made in a completely different way than ever before, evermore represents a radical shift in her creative process. Initially, neither folklore nor evermore was conceived with the intention of being performed live or even experienced outside the context of the time in which they were written. They were pandemic albums in the truest sense, tied to the stillness and insularity of life we were all collectively experiencing.
"I've never done this before. In the past I've always treated albums as onе-off eras and moved onto planning the nеxt one as soon as an album was released," Taylor wrote in the album's liner notes. "There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning." For her to release not one, but two, surprise albums in a single year without the usual promotional cycle or over-calculated rollout, was among her boldest acts of artistic freedom she has exercised yet. These albums were made entirely on her own terms, unburdened by the expectations that had defined her career up until then. That spontaneity, that refusal to overthink, is what made this era so magical. It was a moment in time that cannot be replicated, for better or worse.
evermore is undoubtedly among her strongest and most vivid pieces of storytelling as a collective body of work. The songwriting throughout is deeply compelling, layered with vivid, detailed imagery and emotional nuance that is truly poetic. One of the most striking aspects of the storytelling within this music is the way she weaves literary references into so many of these songs. "happiness" carries echoes of The Great Gatsby, written almost as a mournful lament from Daisy to Jay, looking back on their love without regret and the impossibility of rewriting their past but choosing to move forward. "tolerate it" also draws heavily from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, channeling the haunting sense of invisibility and longing that defines the narrator's life. Even with these references, among others, they also feel very much rooted in Taylor's own life and experiences. They feel like reinterpretations of her personal emotions and memories, but reframed through the lens of fictional characters and literary archetypes.
Musically, evermore pulls from a wide palette of inspirations. Tracks like "no body, no crime", "dorothea", "right where you left me" and "cowboy like me" pull from traditional country influences, while others lean into indie-folk, chamber pop, and even alternative rock directions.
Taylor once again worked primarily with Aaron Dessner throughout almost the entirety of evermore, continuing to build upon the creative partnership that defined much of folklore. She also worked with a range of other artists as well, including frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff on "gold rush", which is perhaps the most Bleachers-esque song she has ever released. The three of them also worked on the standout "ivy" together while they were recording the folklore: live from long pond studios album and special. evermore also features contributions from some of her other friends and longtime influences, like Haim, The National, Bon Iver, Marcus Mumford and others. This is truly among her strongest and most adventurous runs of collaborations of her entire career.
The stories told across the album are strikingly varied; failed marriage proposals, returning home for the holidays only to realize some things never change, starlets weighed down by their champagne problems, closets of backlogged dreams, cowboys chasing fleeting romance because forever is the sweetest con, and even a murder mystery that starts on a Tuesday night at Olive Garden. Beneath these vignettes lies a unifying theme of hope and survival. The pain, however consuming it feels in the moment, is never permanent. These stories aren't necessarily escapist fantasies but instead serve as testaments to endurance and a reminder of the strength it takes to push through chapters of life you never thought you'd survive and emerge on the other side. On the twelfth track Taylor herself sings, "long story short it was a bad time, long story short I survived". While rooted in her own experience, the lyric resonates universally, especially now with five years of hindsight. In late 2020, that message offered comfort and perspective during a time of collective uncertainty.
If folklore was born in the early days of the pandemic, a record of emotional processing and introspection, then evermore arrived as the light at the end of the tunnel. It captured the sense of endurance and cautious hope that so many people felt at that time, transforming isolation into art and reminding listeners that even in the darkest seasons, there is still beauty to be found.
For the biggest artist in the world, is it possible to have an album that functions as a deep cut? In Taylor's case, evermore is that understated hidden gem, featuring several of the best songs of her entire career. Often overlooked, it sits between the cultural phenomenon of folklore and her massive return to mainstream pop with Midnights - not to mention the beginning of her Taylor's Version journey too. While it may not carry the same hype or commercial success as those records, evermore embodies everything that defines Taylor as a generational songwriter and storyteller. This album closes the chapter on the folklore/evermore universe, even though echoes of its themes and aesthetics have continued to resurface in subsequent releases, revealing new layers with each era that follows.
In many ways, evermore feels like a shining moment within Taylor's creative journey, but within my own as well. Both folklore and evermore are incredibly special to me, as they were the very first album reviews I wrote back in 2020. I was so deeply moved by the music and the stories woven throughout them that I felt compelled to share my thoughts, not realizing at the time that writing about music in a long-form, analytical way would become such an important creative outlet in my life. It's still so exciting to see my original reviews of folklore and evermore remain among the most popular articles on my blog today, and to keep building upon the foundation they created in my writing ever since.
Thanks for reading! I would love for you to check out my in-depth 2020 review of evermore and folklore - along with my recent five year anniversary review of folklore. Many more are linked below and coming soon!
All photos are my own!
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