folklore
by Taylor Swift
  • Record Label: Republic
  • Release Date: Jul 24, 2020
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
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  1. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 3, 2020
    60
    These 16 tracks (17 on the deluxe version) play out quite pleasurably in their entirety, the joins between Swift, Dessner and Antonoff ultimately only of niche interest. But Swift’s powerful songs reach their climaxes with bittersweet orchestrations, rather than blows to the solar plexus or a ringing in the ears. Everything hovers; little truly lands.
  2. The New York Times
    Jul 27, 2020
    60
    “Folklore” songs fall into roughly two camps — excellent Swift-penned songs that are sturdy enough to bear the production, and others that end up obscured by murk.

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Album of 2020
1
#1 Most Discussed Album of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 17537 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15,823 out of 17537
  2. Mixed: 241 out of 17537
  3. Negative: 1,473 out of 17537
  1. dxvidr13
    Jul 24, 2020
    10
    album of the year. amazing lyrics, amazing production, amazing sounds. taylor swift is the best songwriter of this generation. .
  2. Andresbustamant
    Jul 24, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Her best album ever, such a masterpiece. The production, the lyrics, her voice. EVERYTHING… Full Review »
  3. markzov
    Jul 24, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Jack, too, is present and accounted for on “Folklore,” to a slightly lesser extent, and together Antonoff and Dessner make for a surprisingly well-matched support-staff tag team. Swift’s collabs with the National’s MVP clearly set the tone for the project, with a lot of fingerpicking, real strings, mellow drum programming and Mellotrons. You can sense Antonoff, in the songs he did with Swift, working to meet the mood and style of what Dessner had done or would be doing with her, and bringing out his own lesser-known acoustic and lightly orchestrated side. As good of a mesh as the album is, though, it’s usually not too hard to figure out who worked on which song — Dessner’s contributions often feel like nearly neo-classical piano or guitar riffs that Swift toplined over, while Antonoff works a little more toward buttressing slightly more familiar sounding pop melodies of Swift’s, dressed up or down to meet the more somber-sounding occasion.

    For some fans, it might take a couple of spins around the block with this very different model to become re-accustomed to how there’s still the same power under the hood here. And that’s really all Swift, whose genius for conversational melodies and knack for giving every chorus a telling new twist every time around remain unmistakable trademarks. Thematically, it’s a bit more of a hodgepodge than more clearly autobiographical albums like “Lover” and “Reputation” before it have been. Swift has always described her albums as being like diaries of a certain period of time, and a few songs here obviously fit that bill, as continuations of the newfound contentment she explored in the last album and a half. But there’s also a higher degree of fictionalization than perhaps she’s gone for in the past, including what she’s described as a trilogy of songs revolving around a high school love triangle. The fact that she refers to herself, by name, as “James” in the song “Betty” is a good indicator that not everything here is ripped from today’s headlines or diary entries.    … Full Review »
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