Melissa Kacar

In the midst of what was set to be the cruelest summer yet, Taylor Swift's Folklore came along and saved it for us all. She made the surprise announcement on July 23 about the album being released just a few hours later that night at midnight - which of course was so exciting to look forward to!  I've been a huge fan of her music for the past twelve years and she has influenced so much of my life and music taste during that time. I was initially going to share my full review right when it came out, but I wanted to fully process everything about it and give more than just my first impressions. There is so much depth to this album, so I really wanted to do it justice for this review and analysis. I never dedicated a full blog post to one album review before, but I have so many strong thoughts on this album that I need to share!  "I'm doin' good, I'm on some new shit..." is the first line of the album's opening track "the 1" -...

  "Renegade" was born from such a creatively fulfilling time for Taylor Swift , specifically of her work with frequent collaborators Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon . Coming off of folklore and evermore the year prior, and in the midst of the early stages of her Taylor's Version re-releasing journey, this remains a largely underrated, but very special chapter of her music catalog thus far. Those albums were made entirely on her own terms, unburdened by the expectations that had defined her career up until then. That spontaneity and refusal to overthink is what made this era so singular in her discography thus far. "Renegade" stands out as such a raw and confessional lament, opening up in a way that feels rare, even for a songwriter that has long been known for her deep, personal storytelling.  Aaron and Justin, who have collaborated countless times over the years together, formed the duo Big Red Machine in 2018 alongside the release of their debut self-title...

Just when I thought Taylor Swift couldn't do anymore to save 2020 after her surprise summer release of Folklore , less than 6 months later she released yet another incredible quarantine album! Evermore is the sister album to Folklore and was surprise released hours after it was announced on December 11. I have always loved Taylor's songwriting and how lyrically complex, deeply personal and profound so much of it is. Over the summer I wrote a full review and analysis of Folklore , which not only was my favorite article I have ever written, but also quickly became my most popular as well! I'm very excited to share my review and analysis of Folklore's sister album, Evermore , with you!  Evermore is made up of 15 songs, largely in collaboration with Aaron Dessner. All of the other artists she worked with on Folklore are also featured on the new album, with a few new additions. As a whole, Evermore is the perfect continuation of what was started on Folklore - there ar...

Now lost in the memory of a moment in time, Folklore is an album that offered an escape from the chaos of the world, creating space for timeless stories of love, loss, friendship, and heartbreak to be passed down like folk songs.  Folklore  was the first page in a new chapter for Taylor Swift , as the process of writing and releasing this album was completely different than anything she had done prior and went on to shape her approach to making music from that point forward. It was surprise released in the heat of the cruelest summer yet - with the intention for this music serving as a form of escapism from all of the stress and fear that was at the forefront of everyone's minds during the early months of the pandemic. Taylor wrote these songs from many different perspectives, some rooted in her real-life experiences, others more based on fiction. She built up storylines within the lyrics that were all intricately tied together by an invisible string.  Pulling from her pa...