Summer Album Reviews Are In: folklore, meet SUPERBLOOM
Taylor Swift, Folklore
...helping us forget ME! one thoughtful ballad at a time.
Chill, gang, I adore Taylor. I will always stan Taylor. And I’m grateful for every moment with her. From jamming in the car to “Picture to Burn” with my sister when she first got her license, to crying to “Breathe” with my best friend when she broke up with her boyfriend, all the way to falling head-over-heels in love with Joe Alwyn beside Taylor last year. But for the past five years, part of me has missed the “old Taylor.” The woman who created—from start to finish, by her-queen-ass-self—“Mean”, which got me through my first PA job, “Enchanted,” which I listened to the day after I met ~tHe OnE~, and “Best Day,” which I still cannot listen to without crying (Love you, Mama). So… you can imagine how much I think Taylor’s latest drop, Folklore, slaps. Folklore is like if Fearless went to Oberlin College, got a little indie, moved to Greenpoint, and stopped giving so much of a fuck. (Feels appropriate to curse in this review, considering Taylor finally dropped her first F-bomb in this album.)
Folklore is a jaw-dropper, ladies. And if I’m being honest, there is not one song on the album I don’t love. While the melodies and themes evoke Fearless, Speak Now, and Red, the personal strides Taylor has taken from “I Almost Do” to “The 1” display not only acceptance of her past, but happiness within herself and openness to her future. Instead of making every track about how an absolute idiot hurt her, and how he’s in the wrong, Folklore is more honest. Because let’s be real, most breakups are not one sided. 99% of the time a breakup occurs because two people are just not right for each other. The parallels between Red’s “The Last Time,” which she worked on with Ed Sheeran, and Folklore’s “Exile” which she recorded with Bon Iver, also reflect a newfound inner peace. These breakup anthems are grown up.
Taylor’s growth reflects in her ability to transform influences from other artists ranging from pop, to folk, to R&B. While she would probably kill me for saying this, but I believe it reflects even more how much she has moved on from her earlier, messier relationships, I find that “Peace” and “Hoax” evoke John Mayer and Frank Ocean, specifically the tracks “Wildfire,” which they produced together, and FrOcean’s singles “In My Room,” and “Lens.” Folklore’s haunting interludes and intricate bridges even evoke a personal fave—Lana Del Rey, tracks like “American” and “National Anthem,” from Born to Die. Taylor holds onto the “American Girl” theme we love, but Folklore is deeper, while simultaneously simpler. Taylor seems to have finally gained the self-confidence she was always desperate to prove she had.
So, yeah, I could listen to Taylor’s small-town stories on repeat. We’ve missed these tracks from her. Folklore’s love triangle trio, “Cardigan,” “August,” and “Betty,” take us blissfully back to Speak Now and Red, back to the Taylor that we fell in love with. However, the real magic of Folklore lies in the wisdom and self-awareness of tracks like “My Tears Ricochet,” “Mirrorball,” and “This is Me Trying.” Because isn’t self-awareness really the key to maturity? Folklore’s strength is infectious. Folklore is what we all needed.
If #youthought you found ~tHe oNe~: “The 1,” “Invisible String,” “Hoax”
If you’ve ever taken part in a love triangle (& maybe done somethin’ shady): “Cardigan,” “August,” “Betty,” “Illicit Affairs”
If your heart hurts like a bitch right now: “Exile,” “My Tears Ricochet,” “This is Me Trying”
MisterWives, SUPERBLOOM
We are #blessed Taylor Swift surprised us with the gorgeous Folklore last month, but she’s not the only pop royalty who came out with an emotional album that day. MisterWives graced us with their third studio album, SUPERBLOOM. There’s something about powerful women dominating the music industry with badass breakup albums that’s so inspiring - so human. Other amazing breakup albums I highly recommend, in addition to SUPERBLOOM, include: Beyonce's iconic Lemonade, Miley Cryus’ underrated and slightly unhinged Bangerz, and Paramore’s stunning After Laughter. Music gives artists the opportunity to open up a part of themselves to us and be vulnerable, while also creating an environment for themselves to heal and work through personal demons. When artists like MisterWives and T-Swift create albums that push themselves through heartbreak, bringing us on their journey, we address our own tenderness and apprehension in life. MisterWives lead singer and songwriter, Mandy, sings it best in “Decide to be Happy:”
“Music, it saved me
But it drives me crazy
'Cause it forces my eyes, to take a look and see”
I love MisterWives for their ability to snap you into the themes of their songs. Mandy serenades us with her love songs, and hypes us with her rebellion against manufactured pop music in others. SUPERBLOOM stays on brand with the band’s sound, but is lyrically so different from their previous albums.
MisterWives starts you on their SUPERBLOOM experience at “The End.” This song is GROWTH. We’re swallowing the fear, the pride, and facing our issues head on despite the anxiety in our bellies. We’re not healed yet, but we’ve reached the end of being sad, and are beginning to move forward. Shortly after, we’re guided into “WhyWhyWhy.” This track serves us a fun beat with some sad lyrics, not unlike Paramore’s album After Laughter. The lines, “Don't keep pulling me under, we were meant to stay afloat. I see all the embers, they’re not yet lost all their glow,” hits hard if you’ve ever felt like you’re the only one fighting to keep a relationship - with a loved one, significant other, or friend - alive. Replay and repeat for some cathartic music therapy. Thank you, MisterWives!
If you ever get the opportunity to see MisterWives live, I highly recommend. They put on a SHOW. During the Connect the Dots tour, their performance of “Coming Up for Air” was one of the most memorable songs. Every time I hear it, I picture them in the cutest synchronized line, dancing.
On every MisterWives album, I gravitate towards one song as “my jam” of that album. My jams from their previous albums are “Not Your Way” (Our Own House) and “Coloring Outside the Lines” (Connect the Dots). The newest addition from SUPERBLOOM is “Decide to be Happy.” Throw on all three and dance around your room for an unbothered, happy ten minutes.
Ooh, what’s this? The world's most perfect playlist combining our favorite Folklore and SUPERBLOOM tracks mixed with some other incredible artists? Enjoy :,)
