Less than a year after the release of her last album, Lover — and with less than 24 hours’ notice — Taylor Swift has surprise-dropped her eighth studio LP, Folklore, written and recorded entirely in isolation. Perhaps it’s not a surprise, however, that Folklore marks a complete 180 from Lover’s rainbow-bright arena-pop. With any sort of arena action obviously off the table in the COVID age, the homebound Swift has turned inward and indie, creating an instant quarantine classic with the remote help of the National’s Aaron Dessner (who co-wrote and produced 11 of the record’s 16 tracks), frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, and, on the duet “Exile,” alt-folk darling Bon Iver.
“Before this year I probably would’ve overthought when to release this music at the ‘perfect’ time, but the times we’re living in keep reminding me that nothing is guaranteed. My gut telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with,” Swift explained in an Instagram post Thursday morning, announcing the album’s arrival that evening.
While Folklore’s release may seem impulsive, the album is fully realized, hardly a lo-fi bedroom recording — and, unlike recent uneven stabs at folk-rock cred by some of her pop peers (Justin Timberlake’s Man of theWoods, Lady Gaga’s Joanne, Miley Cyrus’s Younger Now), it doesn’t come across as a marketing stunt. The Miss Americana star has gone convincingly Americana — not a huge stretch, given her country roots — with many critics and fans hailing Folklore as her finest and most authentic effort yet.
While the pandemic-era album finds Swift in an understandably mellow, melancholy, and meditative mood, there’s one song that combines the snaky rage of Reputation’s “Look What You Made Me Do” with the snarky social commentary of last year’s “The Man.” And it’s that track, “Mad Woman,” that seems to be gaining the most traction on Twitter, especially among characteristically Easter-egg-hunting Swifties. Some fans and journalists theorize that “Mad Woman’s” barbed lyrics target Swift’s nemeses at her former record label Big Machine, Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun; others interpret the song as a rumination on her long-running feud with Kanye West. (Incidentally, many fans have also read much into Swift’s decision to put out Folklore on the same day as West’s 10th album, Donda: With Child, although that now seems to be a moot point: As of this writing, Donda has not yet dropped.)
Lyrically if not sonically, “Mad Woman” is a great, unapologetic woman-scorned anthem in the vain of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” or Kelis’s “Caught Out There.” Swift keenly examines how society vilifies “difficult” women who dare to express their (entirely justified) anger and aren’t ready to make nice and don’t need to calm down, with a chorus that positively seethes: “Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy/What about that?/And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry/And there's nothing like a mad woman/What a shame she went mad/No one likes a mad woman/You made her like that.” Another line, “It’s obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together,” is a notable zinger, as is Swift’s historic first use of an F-bomb in a song.
“Mad Woman” may seem jarring on such a gentle, lulling record, but its theme (an attitude explored in the newly politically unmuzzled Swift’s above-mentioned documentary, Miss Americana) weaves its way elsewhere through Folklore’s pretty tinkling pianos and hushed acoustics. For instance, in “Seven,” Swift notes, “Before I learned civility/I used to scream ferociously/Any time I wanted.” And in the epic “The Last Great American Dynasty,” she tells the tale of eccentric socialite Rebekah Harkness (the famous former inhabitant of Swift’s Rhode Island mansion), a woman whose folklore, so to speak, has inspired its own Twitter thread — and has seemingly inspired Swift.
“There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen/She had a marvelous time ruining everything,” Swift sings. “Fifty years is a long time/Holiday House sat quietly on that beach/Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits/Then it was bought by me… the loudest woman this town has ever seen.”
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 09: (EDITORS NOTE: Image approved by Artist) Taylor Swift performs during the "City of Lover" concert at L'Olympia on September 9, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dave Hogan/ABA/Getty Images)
PRUDENTIAL CENTER, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES - 2019/08/26: Taylor Swift attends the 2019 MTV Video Music Video Awards held at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Efren Landaos/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 26: Singer Taylor Swift attends the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet at Prudential Center on August 26, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 26: (L-R) Bella Hadid, Taylor Swift, and Gigi Hadid attend as Republic Records celebrates The 2019 VMAs at The Fleur Room at Moxy Chelsea on August 26, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Republic Records)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 26: Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on August 26, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV)
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - AUGUST 23: (L-R) Jeslyn, Eliotte Nicole, Taylor Swift, Melanie Nyema and Kamilah Marshall pose with Spotify Mural on Album Release Day at Kent Avenue and South 1st Street, Williamsburg, on August 23, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Spotify)
GOOD MORNING AMERICA - 8/22/19 Taylor Swift performs live from Central Park on "Good Morning America," Thursday, August 22, 2019, airing on the Walt Disney Television Network. GMA19 (Photo by Paula Lobo/Walt Disney Television)
ROBIN ROBERTS, TAYLOR SWIFT
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 22: Taylor Swift visits "Elvis Duran And The Z100 Morning Show" at Z100 Studio on August 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ABA)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 22: Taylor Swift takes a selfie with the cast of "Good Morning America" before performing on ABC's "Good Morning America" at SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on August 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ABA)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 22: Taylor Swift performs on ABC's "Good Morning America" at SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on August 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for ABA)
TEEN CHOICE 2019: Taylor Swift arrives on the blue carpet at TEEN CHOICE 2019 airing Sunday, August 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX from Hermosa Beach, CA. (Photo by FOX Image Collection via Getty Images)
TEEN CHOICE 2018: Taylor Swift accepts the Icon Award onstage at TEEN CHOICE 2019 airing Sunday, August 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX from Hermosa Beach, CA. (Photo by FOX Image Collection via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 10: Taylor Swift performs onstage as Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA and Becky G perform at The Prime Day concert, presented by Amazon Music at on July 10, 2019 at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Amazon )
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 10: Taylor Swift performs onstage as Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, SZA and Becky G perform at The Prime Day concert, presented by Amazon Music at on July 10, 2019 at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Amazon )
CARSON, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 01: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Taylor Swift performs onstage at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango presented by The JUVÉDERM® Collection of Dermal Fillers at Dignity Health Sports Park on June 01, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
CARSON, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 01: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Taylor Swift performs onstage at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango presented by The JUVÉDERM® Collection of Dermal Fillers at Dignity Health Sports Park on June 01, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
CARSON, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 01: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Taylor Swift performs onstage at 2019 iHeartRadio Wango Tango presented by The JUVÉDERM® Collection of Dermal Fillers at Dignity Health Sports Park on June 01, 2019 in Carson, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Taylor Swift during the filming of the Graham Norton Show at BBC Studioworks 6, Television Centre, Wood Lane, London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
(left to right) Sophie Turner, Michael Fassbender, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Taylor Swift during the filming of the Graham Norton Show at BBC Studioworks 6, Television Centre, Wood Lane, London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 01: Taylor Swift performs during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 1, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
THE VOICE -- "Live Finale Results" Episode 1616B -- Pictured: Taylor Swift -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS -- Show Backstage -- 2019 BBMA at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada -- Pictured: (l-r) Halsey, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson -- (Photo by: Todd Williamson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 01: Brendon Urie (L) of Panic! at the Disco and Taylor Swift perform during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 1, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 01: 2019 Taylor Swift arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 01, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 01: 2019 Taylor Swift arrives at the Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 01, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: In advance of her new single 'Me!, Taylor Swift surprises fans at the new Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You Up" Mural on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Swift commissioned the mural and put clues about her upcoming new music in the piece. (Photo by Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: In advance of her new single 'Me!, Taylor Swift surprises fans at the new Kelsey Montague "What Lifts You Up" Mural on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Swift commissioned the mural and put clues about her upcoming new music in the piece. (Photo by Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 23: Taylor Swift performs during the TIME 100 Gala 2019 Dinner at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23: Taylor Swift attends the 2019 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 23: Taylor Swift attends the Times 100 Most Influential People red carpet event on April 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 22: Taylor Swift seen out and about in Manhattan on April 22, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: Taylor Swift arrives at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards which broadcasted live on FOX at Microsoft Theater on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: Taylor Swift arrives at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards which broadcasted live on FOX at Microsoft Theater on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Taylor Swift on stage at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards which broadcasted live on FOX at the Microsoft Theater on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for iHeartMedia )
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 14: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO COMMERCIAL USE) Maren Morris (L) and Taylor Swift attend the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards which broadcasted live on FOX at Microsoft Theater on March 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn seen attending the Vogue BAFTA party at Annabel's club in Mayfair on February 10, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by GOR/GC Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 06: Music Artist Taylor Swift attends InStyle And Warner Bros. Golden Globes After Party 2019 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 06, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/FilmMagic)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 06: Taylor Swift attends the 2019 InStyle and Warner Bros. 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for InStyle)
