Taylor Swift to Release New Album ‘Folklore’ at Midnight

Taylor Swift surprise-announced her eighth studio album, Folklore, which she’ll release Friday, July 24th, at midnight.

In a post on social media, Swift said that the album came about after many of her plans for 2020 — including several shows in support of her 2019 album Lover — had to be scrapped due to COVID-19. With her free time, however, she came up with the collection of new songs that will comprise Folklore, writing and recording in isolation, but collaborating with Aaron Dessner of the National, Bon Iver, William Bowery and Jack Antonoff.

Hours before releasing the album, Swift will release the music video for album track, “Cardigan,” Thursday, July 23rd. She wrote and directed the clip, and said the shoot was “overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, make-up and styling.”

Swift described Folklore as an “entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears and musings into… 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. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with.”

Of the collaborators, Swift said Dessner co-wrote or produced 11 of the 16 songs, while Bon Iver co-wrote some songs and sang on the record as well. Bowery (who doesn’t seem to have any kind of internet presence and could be an alias) co-wrote two songs. As for Antonoff, Swift’s most frequent collaborator these days, she didn’t lay out any specific contributions, but simply described him as “basically musical family at this point.”

Folklore was engineered by Laura Sisk and Jon Low, while Low mixed the album with Serban Ghenea. The album photos were shot by Beth Garrabrant.

Folklore Tracklist

1.” The 1”
2. “Cardigan”
3. “The Last Great American Dynasty”
4. “Exile” (feat. Bon Iver)
5. “My Tears Ricochet”
6. “Mirrorball”
7. “Seven”
8. “August”
9. “This Is Me Trying”
10. “Illicit Affairs”
11. “Invisible String”
12. “Mad Woman”
13. “Epiphany”
14. “Betty”
15. “Peace”
16. “Hoax”

Bonus track:
“The Lakes”