Taylor Swift refuses to give us peace! The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter just announced a surprise album, evermore, a sister project to folklore. Once again created in collaboration with the National’s Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, and “WB†(William Bowery, the songwriting pseudonym for her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn), as well as “some new (and longtime) friends,†evermore is a further exploration of the world they built in folklore. “To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs,†Swift said in her album announcement. “To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in.†The album contains 15 tracks, including “no body, no crime†featuring Haim, “coney island†featuring the National, and the closing track, “evermore†featuring Bon Iver. The deluxe physical edition (you know she loves a deluxe edition) includes two bonus tracks “right where you left me†and “it’s time to go.†All digital downloads of the album include an exclusive digital booklet with 16 new photos of Swift haunting a forest.
Swift is supposed to be busy rerecording her pre-Lover albums after the masters were sold to Scooter Braun, then to an investment fund. But along with releasing a folklore concert film on Disney+, she couldn’t resist coming for our wallets with evermore. “I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales,†she continued. “I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.†Evermore and its first music video for opener, “willow,†will be out at midnight ET Friday, December 11, as a special surprise before Swift’s 31st birthday on December 13. Then, maybe, just maybe, Taylor Swift will give our necks a break.