Taylor Swift

It’s important to remember that before becoming a gold-standard pop star, Taylor Swift grew up on Nashville country music. Music City's folklore now seems a long way off for the thirty-year-old singer. However, Taylor Swift has never stopped dipping her pen into the same ink as her cowgirl elders, perfectly handling romance, heartbreak, introspection, sociopolitical commentary and personal experiences, such as when she sang of her mother’s cancer on Soon You’ll Get Better… It was in lockdown, with restricted means and limited casting, that she put together Folklore, released in the heart of summer 2020. The first surprise here is Aaron Dessner on production. By choosing The National’s guitarist, whom she considers one of her idols, Swift has opted for a musician with sure-footed tastes and boosted her credibility among indie music fans. She hammers this home on Exile with Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon (the album’s only duet), a close friend of Dessner's with whom he formed Big Red Machine.This surprising, even unusual album for Swift is by no means a calculated attempt to flirt with the hipsters. And it really is unusual for her! No pop bangers, nor the usual dig aimed at Kanye West; the album is free of supercharged beats and has delicate instrumentation (piano, acoustic guitar, Mellotron, mandolin, slides…). Folklore toes a perfect line between silky neo-folk and dreamy rock. It’s as if the star had tucked herself away in a cabin in the forest to dream up new ideas, much like Bon Iver did in his early days… By laying her music bare and relieving it of its usual chart music elements, Taylor Swift has added more substance to her discography. This is clear on August, which would never have resonated as well if it had been produced by a Max Martin type… Upon announcing the album, Swift wrote online: “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 is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world.” A wise decision for a beautiful and mature record. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

It’s important to remember that before becoming a gold-standard pop star, Taylor Swift grew up on Nashville country music. Music City's folklore now seems a long way off for the thirty-year-old singer. However, Taylor Swift has never stopped dipping her pen into the same ink as her cowgirl elders, perfectly handling romance, heartbreak, introspection, sociopolitical commentary and personal experiences, such as when she sang of her mother’s cancer on Soon You’ll Get Better… It was in lockdown, with restricted means and limited casting, that she put together Folklore, released in the heart of summer 2020. The first surprise here is Aaron Dessner on production. By choosing The National’s guitarist, whom she considers one of her idols, Swift has opted for a musician with sure-footed tastes and boosted her credibility among indie music fans. She hammers this home on Exile with Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon (the album’s only duet), a close friend of Dessner's with whom he formed Big Red Machine.This surprising, even unusual album for Swift is by no means a calculated attempt to flirt with the hipsters. And it really is unusual for her! No pop bangers, nor the usual dig aimed at Kanye West; the album is free of supercharged beats and has delicate instrumentation (piano, acoustic guitar, Mellotron, mandolin, slides…). Folklore toes a perfect line between silky neo-folk and dreamy rock. It’s as if the star had tucked herself away in a cabin in the forest to dream up new ideas, much like Bon Iver did in his early days… By laying her music bare and relieving it of its usual chart music elements, Taylor Swift has added more substance to her discography. This is clear on August, which would never have resonated as well if it had been produced by a Max Martin type… Upon announcing the album, Swift wrote online: “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 is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world.” A wise decision for a beautiful and mature record. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

After being the Princess of Nashville and then the World Queen of Pop, might Taylor Swift now be the goddess of indie folk? In the summer of 2020, she released the surprising Folklore. An album produced by Aaron Dessner of the National, on which she performs with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. With no pop bangers, no body-built beats, it's the perfect folk counterpoint, carried by understated instrumentation mixing piano, acoustic guitar, mellotron, mandolin and slide guitar. Barely five months later, Evermore has all the hallmarks of the sequel to Folklore: it might even be its twin. Especially since Bon Iver and the National are still there. The Haim sisters and Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons have joined the ranks of these classy guests. Taylor Swift keeps her folk-pop troubadour costume on, and here becomes more introspective than ever. Her songs offer a precise fusion of real facts and improbable daydreams. Obviously, Folklore's element of surprise is no longer on the agenda. But that doesn't keep the star from coming out with strong lyrics about fame (Gold Rush and Dorothea), separation (Happiness) or the twilight of love (Tolerate It). She says she spent 2020 writing, writing, writing, and her pen clearly got a workout. Not all of her songs are of the same calibre, and Folklore remains superior overall. But taken as a whole, all of these 2020 recordings have tipped her over into another world. The fascinating little craft business that Taylor Swift is running here has shaken up the pop canon to make a sound that's even more personal and universal than ever. It remains to be seen what the world (of Taylor Swift) will look like after... © Marc Zisman / Qobuz

« I forgot that you existed, And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't. » Does Taylor Swift still hold a grudge ? From the opening moments of Lover, you’d be hard pressed to think otherwise. At a first glance, it would seem that the venomous tongue so prominent on Reputation (2017) is on the warpath again, feuding against Kanye West, Katy Perry or her ex… But the superstar has more tact and good sense than to needlessly prolong any in-fighting. Maintaining a mostly indifferent stance to the much-publicised conflicts, her seventh album blends romantic pop, deep introspection and socio-political commentary on the United States as a whole, whilst never straying too far without reminding us of her country singer-songwriter roots. The first and foremost example is the acoustic gem Lover, where she pays tribute to her partner of three years, Joe Alwyn. Far from being sirupy, she has a few humorous notes: « Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover / And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me ». The waltz’s light-hearted tone is follow by t The Man’s activist synth-pop. She jokes: « If I was flashing my dollars I’d be a bitch not a baller ». The title itself is a clear explicitation of her feminist message – how would she have been portrayed by the media if she had been a man ? – her questioning stance verges on disillusion, albeit with some nuance, with Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince. American high schools are reinterpreted as a symbol of the United States’ decline: « American glory faded before me / Now I'm feeling hopeless, ripped up my prom dress / Running through rose thorns, I saw the scoreboard / And ran for my life ». Swift also dedicates You Need To Calm Down to all the homophobic haters, as a way of telling them that their outrage and agitation are in vain.  The best moments of Lover are those where the 29-year old reduces the cotton-candy production to a minimum, letting the listener get a glimpse of her private life – outside of any real-life-fantasy boyfriend. Soon You’ll Get Better could have just been acoustic filler – a simple, calm moment intended to make these 18 tracks more digestible. However,  by tackling her mother’s cancer, the ensuing chaos and panic, and her own feelings about that traumatic time, Swift centers the focus of the album on the diverse experiences of love, with a newfound maturity. Lover might be a pop record, by one of the biggest superstars in the past decade, but it’s also the proof that in 2019, the genre doesn’t necessarily rhyme with empty or tasteless. © Alexis Renaudat/Qobuz

After being the Princess of Nashville and then the World Queen of Pop, might Taylor Swift now be the goddess of indie folk? In the summer of 2020, she released the surprising Folklore. An album produced by Aaron Dessner of the National on which she performs with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. With no pop bangers, no body-built beats, it's the perfect folk counterpoint, carried by understated instrumentation mixing piano, acoustic guitar, mellotron, mandolin and slide guitar. Barely five months later, Evermore has all the hallmarks of the sequel to Folklore: it might even be its twin. Especially since Bon Iver and the National are still there. The Haim sisters and Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons have joined the ranks of these classy guests. Taylor Swift keeps her folk-pop troubadour costume on, and here becomes more introspective than ever. Her songs offer a precise fusion of real facts and improbable daydreams. Obviously, Folklore's element of surprise is no longer on the agenda. But that doesn't keep the star from coming out with strong lyrics about fame (Gold Rush and Dorothea), separation (Happiness) or the twilight of love (Tolerate It). She says she spent 2020 writing, writing, writing, and her pen clearly got a workout. Not all of her songs are of the same calibre and Folklore remains superior overall. But taken as a whole, all of these 2020 recordings have tipped her over into another world. The fascinating little craft business that Taylor Swift is running here has shaken up the pop canon to make a sound that's even more personal and universal than ever. It remains to be seen what the world (of Taylor Swift) will look like after... © Marc Zisman / Qobuz

On 19 June 2006, someone called Taylor Swift released her first single, Tim McGraw, a straightforward homage to the country singer of the same name. She was only 17 and stood out as a potential future queen of country pop... A good decade later, queen she is: but of pop tout court! The Disney cowgirl getup is gone, replaced by the pop R&B icon who has conquered the heights of the charts, but who, above all, has been able to impose her style and her writing as a canonical part of the modern genre. With Reputation, her royal crown never threatens to fall from her head. On the contrary. With this sixth album, Taylor Swift certainly has not equalled 1989, her most accomplished record released in 2014, though she confirms that she is to her times what Madonna was to the 80s and 90s. Really, it should be enjoyed for what it is: great pop, with catchy choruses, pumped–up production (the Swedish pairing of Max Martin/Shellback as well as the American Jack Antonoff are in charge here) and her autobiographical lyrics which juggle with looove, liiife, fruuustration, saaadness, haaappiness, etc. Here, Taylor Swift unburdens her soul, in particular about how the limelight can burn, especially on Call It What You Want where she explains that she isn't what she's said to be… this saccharine orgy concludes with an even more melancholy piano ballad, New Year’s Day. We leave Reputation realising that the star has pulled clearly away ahead of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. © CM/Qobuz

Zoals de titel al aangeeft is het album 1989 van de Amerikaanse zangeres Taylor Swift een ode aan de muziek uit haar geboortejaar. 1989 wordt in 2014 uitgebracht en is het vijfde studioalbum van Swift. Op de plaat laat de zangeres haar verleden als countryzangeres ver achter zich en presenteert aanstekelijke popsongs. De productie is in handen van Max Martin en zangeres Imogen Heap vervult een gastoptreden. © TiVo

Als Taylor Swift één ding voor ogen heeft met het album Red uit 2012, is het aantonen dat ze een echte superster is, die elk genre overstijgt. Red is als een buffet dat ieder genre aanbiedt dat een Swift-fan zich kan wensen. Moeiteloos schakelt de zangeres tussen uiteenlopende genres. Van een melancholiek Mazzy Star-achtig nummer als "Sad Beautiful Tragic" tot een cool new wave-nummer als "The Lucky One". Temidden van de stadionrock van "State of Grace”, de dancepop van "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” en het dubstep-uitstapje "I Knew You Were Trouble” is er geen plaats voor Swifts oude liefde, countrymuziek. Maar dat maakt het album er alleen maar sterker op. © TiVo

On 19 June 2006, someone called Taylor Swift released her first single, Tim McGraw, a straightforward homage to the country singer of the same name. She was only 17 and stood out as a potential future queen of country pop... A good decade later, queen she is: but of pop tout court! The Disney cowgirl getup is gone, replaced by the pop R&B icon who has conquered the heights of the charts, but who, above all, has been able to impose her style and her writing as a canonical part of the modern genre. With Reputation, her royal crown never threatens to fall from her head. On the contrary. With this sixth album, Taylor Swift certainly has not equalled 1989, her most accomplished record released in 2014, though she confirms that she is to her times what Madonna was to the 80s and 90s. Really, it should be enjoyed for what it is: great pop, with catchy choruses, pumped–up production (the Swedish pairing of Max Martin/Shellback as well as the American Jack Antonoff are in charge here) and her autobiographical lyrics which juggle with looove, liiife, fruuustration, saaadness, haaappiness, etc. Here, Taylor Swift unburdens her soul, in particular about how the limelight can burn, especially on Call It What You Want where she explains that she isn't what she's said to be… this saccharine orgy concludes with an even more melancholy piano ballad, New Year’s Day. We leave Reputation realising that the star has pulled clearly away ahead of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. © CM/Qobuz

Het zevende album van Taylor Swift, Lover (2019), klinkt wat vuiger dan haar eerdere albums. Samen met Jack Antonoff presenteert de Amerikaanse zangeres op haar nieuwe album rake popsongs, met invloeden uit de jaren tachtig sythesizer-pop. Maar Swift put ook inspiratie uit country, dreampop, funk en r&b. Verder werkt ze ditmaal samen met de Dixie Chicks en Brendon Urie van de formatie Panic! at the Disco. © TiVo

Op haar tweede album, Fearless, is niet te merken dat Taylor Swift een tiener is. Haar ontwikkeling is opzettelijk en voorzichtig, naar het voorbeeld van de crossover country-pop van Shania Twain en Faith Hill voor ze diva's werden. Swift lijkt helemaal geen diva op Fearless: ze heeft een zachte stem en is attent, een grote zus i.p.v. een grote ster. In haar zingen is nog wat jeugdigheid te horen, maar dat is alles; ze heeft een scherpe, subtiel uitgevoerde schrijfstijl en de muziek is rustig maar zelfverzekerd en nooit opdringerig. De zachte invloed van Swift is net zo duurzaam als haar zangtalent en het is deze muzikale volwassenheid die Fearless een van de beste mainstream popalbums van 2008 maakt. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo