Melissa Kacar

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 o...

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...

On this day five years ago, Taylor Swift wrote one of the most defining songs of her entire career, "cardigan". This song shapes so much of the underlying storyline of Folklore and lays the foundation for much of the work she created in the years since. Alongside the premiere of the "cardigan" music video in 2020, Taylor wrote, "This song is about a lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently within our memories. Why it leaves such an indelible mark." It remains a stunning example of her ability to blend wistful nostalgia with deeply evocative storytelling.  This song, along with the rest of what eventually became Folklore , emerged from the quiet solitude of the early days of the pandemic. Taylor created the entirety of this record alone at home, collaborating virtually with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff , a particularly prolific and creatively fulfilling period in which she wrote two albums in close succession.  Folklore came toge...

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...