Evermore by Taylor Swift was dropped on December 11, 2020 with a surprise release, just like it’s sister-album, Folklore, which was released five months prior.

Evermore is Swift’s ninth studio album. The album got 67.4 million streams in its first day on Spotify, making it the second-biggest Spotify debut ever behind Folklore. A deluxe version of the album was released on January 7, 2021 with two bonus tracks, “Right Where You Left Me,” and “It’s Time to Go,” making the entire album just over one hour long. Let’s dive right in.

The title track of Evermore features Bon Iver and the album has two other features from HAIM and The National. The genre of Evermore is similar to that of Folklore and is very different from her pop and country albums. The lyrics are quite poetic and have callbacks to some older songs as well. The radio-hit “Willow” is the opener and it is believed to be about her long-term partner, Joe Alwyn. “Gold Rush” is also speculated to be about Alwyn, due to the analogy of gold being used in previous songs about him. Do not think this is a love album, though. “Marjorie” is a tribute to Swift’s late grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer.

The stories of Evermore are complex and open to interpretation. Many Swifties have taken it upon themselves to decipher the songs and post their theories on social media. These theories add to the sense of community among Taylor Swift fans. Give the album a listen and see how you interpret it!

Evermore has been nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 Grammy’s which you can watch on April 3.