“Willow” by Taylor Swift, Monday, August 14, 2023
We’re reliving pop-era Taylor Swift in the middle of the Midnights album cycle and on the cusp of Swift rereleasing her game-changing record 1989 . Even the re-record of Speak Now seemed to bypass its original country twang and highlight a pop-rock Taylor. But before we’re welcomed back to New York, especially as the summer is winding down, I’m drawn to the Taylor Swift that’s not quite Nashville, not quite L.A. but somewhere in Appalachian folklore perhaps lost for evermore . I’ve written a lot about folklore , but that release eclipsed the equally surprising release of evermore. While folklore was a more cohesive record, evermore was the album on which Taylor Swift gives herself permission to experiment in what could have been her new sound for the ‘20s. WRECK MY PLANS; THAT’S MY MAN. Taylor Swift begins her experimental album evermore with a song that could have easily been released on folklore, “ willow .” Similar to “ the 1 ” and “ cardigan ,” “Willow” didn’t immediately draw m