Surprise, surprise: Taylor Swift has announced the release of her eighth studio album. It’s called folklore, spans 16 tracks, and arrives TONIGHT at midnight ET.
Co-produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, who co-wrote/produced 11 tracks, the album also features collaborations with Bon Iver, Jack Antonoff, and William Bower.
“Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen,” Swift announced on socials.
“Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into. I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine; Aaron Dessner (who has co-written or produced 11 of the 16 songs), Bon Iver (who co-wrote and was kind enough to sing on one with me), William Bowery (who co-wrote two with me) and Jack Antonoff (who is basically musical family at this point).”
In his own Instagram posting, Dessner wrote, “I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together.” He continued, “I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song—the momentum never really stopped. Over the next few months, we remotely finished 11 songs (She also recorded several others with the amazing [Jack Antonoff]) of her magical new album folklore. I’ve rarely been so inspired by someone and it’s still hard to believe this even happened—these songs came together in such a challenging time.”
Below you can view Swift’s full announcement, in addition to the tracklist and album artwork, which happens to look very metal. Along with the standard edition of the album, eight different deluxe editions are also available, each featuring unique artwork and photographs as well as a bonus track called “The Lakes”.
folklore serves as Swift’s eighth studio album to date and arrives a little less than a year after her previous full-length, Lover. Swift had planned to play a series of stadium shows this summer, but those dates were postponed due to the pandemic.
In a fascinating subplot, Swift’s folklore is due out the same day Swift’s longtime rival, Kanye West, is supposedly releasing his own new album.
folklore Artwork:
folklore Tracklist:
01. The 1
02. Cardigan
03. The Last Great American Dynasty
04. Exile” (feat. Bon Iver)
05. My Tears Ricochet
06. Mirrorball
07. Seven
08. August
09. This Is Me Trying
10. Illicit Affairs
11. Invisible String
12. Mad Woman
13. Epiphany
14. Betty
15. Peace
16. Hoax
