evermore [deluxe version] in Bloomington, MN

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.
isn't quite a "
, Vol. 2," though. Where
was a controlled departure, an album where every element fell into exact place,
Taylor Swift
is quite a bit looser on
, 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
benefits from a slight playfulness, a quality she deliberately suppressed on
. 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 sweet sway of "Dorothea."
still leans into bittersweet settings, finding a sympathetic collaborator in
Aaron Dessner
, the co-leader of
the National
who produced and co-wrote the great majority of the record.
The National
themselves are featured on "Coney Island" --
Bryce Dessner
's grave intonations provide a strikingly effective contrast to
's gentle phrasing -- but they, like
Dessner
on the rest of the album, work as expert support to
Taylor
, coaxing out the bittersweet complexities of her compositions.
reaches something of a crescendo on "Marjorie," an ode to her late grandmother where the delicately shifting arrangement -- more electronic than acoustic, despite the album's rural imagery -- underscores instead of heightens
's open grieving. While "Marjorie" might veer toward the melancholy,
as a whole doesn't play as a sad album.
enjoys playing with the new musical and emotional colors on her palette for
to anything but a warm balm, a record suited for contemplation, not loneliness. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine