Saving us from the long and dreadful quarantine, singer Taylor Swift’s dropped her latest album, “Folklore”, on July 24. It might just be the thing that will single-handedly save 2020, and distract us all from the unjust criminal justice system and the riots that have been following as a result, a skewed election, and of course, the pandemic that has completely altered our everyday lives.

That’s not to say that this distraction won’t make you any less depressed, or make any fewer tears fall. Let’s be clear, “Folklore” will make you cry even if it’s the night before you’re wedded to your middle school sweetheart who you love more than anything. This album knows exactly how to get the tears out of you, whether you’re going through a heartbreak so hard it’s difficult to sleep, or you’re so happy you haven’t wiped a smile off your face all day. The minute you step into your before bed shower and put Folklore on the speaker, you’re in for the waterworks.

You could pretty much just put the playlist on shuffle, and whatever song you end up with, I promise you’ll love it. That’s how good the album is. However, if I had to pick a song to pick and listen to and never stop listening to, I’d pick “Exile”, a collab between Swift and Bon Iver.

Not only are the songs lyrics genius, but the melody is absolutely beautiful. It makes you want to just sway back and forth. Iver and Swift’s voices together create a breathtaking muse that tells a story from not one, but two perspectives.

Which is the awesome thing about Folklore…the songs all tell different stories from different perspectives. Not all of the songs are Swift’s personal experiences. In fact, a lot of them are from her friend’s perspectives. One song, “The Greatest American Dynasty”, tells the story of the hostile, insane, manic woman who owned Swift’s mansion before her.

The most masterful part of her album in my opinion is her choice to do so many perspectives, and in what she calls the “Teenage Love Triangle,” she proves just how much power she can include in a story told through music by using different perspectives.

The triangle consists of three songs, told through two different time periods, telling just one story. The tracks “August”, “Betty”, and “Cardigan” tells the story of Betty and James, who fall in love and date in high school, until James cheats on her. In “August”, Swift sings from the perspective of the girl who James cheats on Betty with that summer. In “Cardigan”, Betty curses James name years later, and in “Betty” James reminisces on his mistakes that summer, and his plan to get Betty back.

This triangle is just one example of the many lyrical melodies that tell a story on the album. All of the songs have a story behind them, and a different perspective to go along with them.

Overall, I’d have to give the album 10/10, and definitely recommend listening to it if you’re looking for a good cry, or if you’re a T. Swizzle fan like me.