evermore [deluxe version]

Appearing a mere five months after Folklore, Evermore is a direct sequel to its predecessor, recorded in a similar fashion during the 2020 quarantine, containing a similar supporting cast and exploring a familiar set of emotions. Evermore isn't quite a "Folklore, Vol. 2," though. Where Folklore was a controlled departure, an album where every element fell into exact place, Taylor Swift is quite a bit looser on Evermore, playing with narratives and texture, feeling so comfortable in her moody surroundings that she throws around profanities without hesitation. The explicit language serves as a signal to Swift's ongoing maturation as a songwriter -- more than ever, it's clear that she spins stories in a third character -- but Evermore benefits from a slight playfulness, a quality she deliberately suppressed on Folklore. It surfaces strongly on "No Body, No Crime," a murder revenge tale told with the assistance of HAIM, and flows through the insistent pulse of "Long Story Short" and the sw