While we were baking banana bread, learning tik tok dances (cringe), and tie-dying sweatshirts in quarantine, Taylor Swift was writing the best album of her entire career. The best part? No one had any idea. 

And let me just say Taylor is BACK. Like so many swifties, I really fell off the bandwagon after the release of “1989.” I totally respect her need to branch out and experiment, but “reputation” and “Lover” really did not do it for me.  

If you have been living under a rock (honestly wouldn’t blame you, especially these days) and somehow missed all of the memes, tweets, and news about Taylor, you may not know that in July she released her eighth studio album, “folklore.”  

I’d say “folklore” is most comparable to “Red,” but it definitely has its own sound – a mix of indie, folk, and pop. Many of the songs generated a lot of buzz on social media, especially “betty” and “the last great american dynasty.”  

The album starts off with “the 1,” which is a classic Taylor break-up jam, with a more mature message than a cult favorite such as “You Belong With Me.” The rest of the album is a real mix of emotions for me – from sad to fun to even a little spooky.  

Just last week, on the deluxe version of “folklore,” a brand-new song called “the lakes” was added. This is definitely bold, but I think it’s the best song on the whole album. But, I’d say definitely give each song on “folklore” a listen – you won’t regret it.