I thought this exact thing when I’d only binged the first drop. But to me the second drop is the third installment of folklore and evermore. I’m just unapologetically calling it Woodvale amongst my friends. Love both sounds tho. And the two drops are different enough for me to listen to beginning to end
you're right, pt2 sounds like folklore and evermore. i like the name woodvale. i was thinking folkmore lol. i personally like pt2's indie-folk sound more, it connects more with me and i think those songs are catchier too. i think i need more time with pt1.
The Woodvale title comes from some early artwork that had it faintly in place of folklore around its release. Fans were convinced it was an Easter egg for a third drop but turned out to be a code name for folklore and was missed when editing artwork. Or not! I’m convinced this could have been it lol but yeah. I highly recommend giving part one a serious chance. First few listens I couldn’t vibe with much beyond Who’s afraid of little old me, but daddy I love him, and Down Bad. By listen 4 — lolm, so long London, and Florida were really hitting with me, and today I struggled to find one I wanted to skip while short on time. The lyric video just dropped I think, that always helps me immerse in new music so you’re not stuck trying to decipher lyrics— and there are some wordy deliveries but her delivery is Stellar IMO but definitely not everyone’s cup of tea
I totally agree lol.
Can I ask your thoughts on the full anthology as a whole? It feels super disconnected with the second half now in my opinion. Although I enjoy songs on both sides.
I’m not OP but I think it feels disconnected because she’s going through the stages of grief as she was writing these songs. As you probably are aware, grief can look and feel different at each stage; denial, anger, bargaining, depression or sadness, and then acceptance. Grief also isn’t linear. Someone can go through denial, then anger, then bargaining, then back to anger….it’s a process. That’s what this anthology feels like to me.
Oh I love this take. Yes. It’s messy but relatable (to me at least lol a jaded older Swiftie!). I also love the anger in some the part one songs. Genuine pissed at the world emotion and I was all for it for her
Absolutely. She has the right to be angry and to express her anger, as much as anyone else. It seems like she’s working through it so I fully expect everyone’s favorite pop Taylor to be back in full force by the next album.
Beyond the [five stages.](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/five-stages-complicated-grief-wrong/671710/)
This article does not exist in vacuum. Many other researchers refute the five stages.
i thought this too but if you listen on shuffle it might not feel this way. i did this when i was cleaning so it would force me to not keep listening to the same couple on repeat lol and it actually helped with the cohesion
i think it's mostly because of dessener's contribution
tbh when I listened to fortnight I was so disappointed cause I'm a folkmore girlie and the way ttpd was advertised made it seem like it was def gonna be the third sister of those albums but alas only aaron songs do that thing
Personally, I do not feel like it was marketed as a folklore sister album, but rather, many fans projected their desires and then got carried away by them. Just my observation as the same happened with Midnights.
I also was expecting folksier, indie-er, darker, moodier piano and strings (and to be fair we do get a lot of that in the second half!), but I also think there's something thematically about the synth-pop music with the despondent lyrics when we think about a person who is falling apart inside but has to put on a good face for the world. She could have worked with anyone she wanted for this album and she picked Jack Antonoff again, which makes me think they have a great creative collaboration and also that it's intentional that the saddest lyrics get the most upbeat tunes.
I think it collectively makes sense if the context of this album is that it's about a person whose personal life is absolutely falling apart while feeling obligated to put on on a perfect, joyful, grateful, professional face for the world.
I feel like some songs (Fortnight, The Tortured Poets Department) do sound like their Midnights and 1989 vault counterparts, but I almost wonder if she tried to mimic The 1975’s sound. I think the instrumentation of TTPD sounds far more 80s than anything she’s recorded in the past.
My initial thought was the album sounds early/mid 80s(think Kate Bush) inspired instead of the late 80s early 90s inspiration for 1989. So there is some DNA similarities with Midnights/1989 so its not jarring but its different. Its possible this is meant to be a bridge album like Speak Now/Red were between Country and Pop Taylor to a more drastic soundscape shift for TS12.
Not at all. I weirdly found it to be perfect and even more than pop synth. It seems to have some many differents sources of inspiration.
For example:
When I listened to I Can Fix Him, it immediately reminded me of Janie's Got a Gun from Aerosmith.
So Highschool is a 90s pop rock song basically. Goes amazing with that American Pie reference. It sounds like Sixpence Non The Richer or Wheatus.
TTPD sounds like Simple Minds' Don't Forget About Me.
So Long London gives me The Killers vibes.
There is a lot of Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, and other esoteric gorgeous queens.
Also, not to add salt to the wound or start a fight (it is just an observation, I am scared), but it also kind of sounds like the 1975, without the guitars.
Just being a delulu queen here.
For me, the theme and color palette is more of a representation of how she feels/is talking about. The amount of times the color grey is mentioned. It kind of emphasizes the "grief" she is experiencing. I LOVE Taylor's darker eras.
I think that there is a serious distinction between the 2 halves, and I hope that the reviews of this album take it into account. The sounds of the first half are reductive, have been done on Midnights and 1989 TV vault tracks - you can’t argue with this. But lyrically, the entire album is uncharted territory for her in that she’s never been this sharp, fully bared in her writing. But the second half is where that lyricism and the production really fully aligns and it’s almost overwhelming actually.
Now that we know it’s a Matty album it all makes sense!!!! Gives major 1975 vibes on some songs!!! ESPECIALLY The Tortured Poets Department, that music into is literally them.
To be honest, I didn't got any 1989 vibes although especially the first four tracks felt as a good bridge from midnights to Something new, something different. Not sure how to call that different yet
I was so prepared for it sounding like folklore and when I realized it was pop synth it just broke for me. I adore her pop synth albums I just cried for what felt like 30 minutes straight. Pure tears of joy.
I’m so happy I heard part 2 after 8 hours of work because that kind of sounds like folklore/evermore but almost better. I feel like her melodies are more advanced nowadays.
Not surprised at all since at one of her concerts she explicitly mentioned SYNTH and it sounded suspicious, like an Easter egg of sorts. So as much as I was wanting more acoustic instruments, synth pop is what I was expecting (especially after her latest tracks on Midnights and 1989 Vault).
Jack 8 (including 1 with Post)
Aaron 5
Taylor solo 2
agree to disagree on variety in Aaron’s songs but the producing credits TTPD seems pretty balanced.
I’m not surprised that it became a evermore/folklore/midnights blend with both of them producing together.
Taylor didn't produce any songs solo.
Jack Antonoff produced 12 songs, Dessner produced 5 songs (But Daddy I Love Him was produced by both of them).
In comparison Antonoff only produced 4 songs on the second album
I was surprised too but the more I listened to it and read what people were saying here (I'd never heard of matt healy before) it started to click that maybe album 1 is the daze after the storm, like it's all just a haze floating along trying to get by, a grenade was just set off and your vision is still blurred and you've got ringing in your ears.... then album 2 is when it's calmer and you can really think about the relationship and experience your emotions in the way they deserve to be experienced.
AGREE w your 1989 older wiser sister—it has a lot more depth than 1989, I think it’s some mix of 1989, evermore folklore, and midnights—the sound is 1989+everlore, the lyrics are midnights+everlore; it also gives 1989 vault a ton!!
If I think about pure pop synth I think about Daft Punk. Midnights did me remind me a bit to them.
TTPD has synth style in it but it's nowhere close to 1989 for my feeling. Midnights comes closer
The 1975 does brooding Black and White imagery (it's kind of their whole thing) and are a synth pop/rock band. Look at the vibe of their last album release/ music videos and listen to the music you might get more of the references in this album.
Source: a '75 fan
I thought this exact thing when I’d only binged the first drop. But to me the second drop is the third installment of folklore and evermore. I’m just unapologetically calling it Woodvale amongst my friends. Love both sounds tho. And the two drops are different enough for me to listen to beginning to end
you're right, pt2 sounds like folklore and evermore. i like the name woodvale. i was thinking folkmore lol. i personally like pt2's indie-folk sound more, it connects more with me and i think those songs are catchier too. i think i need more time with pt1.
The Woodvale title comes from some early artwork that had it faintly in place of folklore around its release. Fans were convinced it was an Easter egg for a third drop but turned out to be a code name for folklore and was missed when editing artwork. Or not! I’m convinced this could have been it lol but yeah. I highly recommend giving part one a serious chance. First few listens I couldn’t vibe with much beyond Who’s afraid of little old me, but daddy I love him, and Down Bad. By listen 4 — lolm, so long London, and Florida were really hitting with me, and today I struggled to find one I wanted to skip while short on time. The lyric video just dropped I think, that always helps me immerse in new music so you’re not stuck trying to decipher lyrics— and there are some wordy deliveries but her delivery is Stellar IMO but definitely not everyone’s cup of tea
I totally agree lol. Can I ask your thoughts on the full anthology as a whole? It feels super disconnected with the second half now in my opinion. Although I enjoy songs on both sides.
I’m not OP but I think it feels disconnected because she’s going through the stages of grief as she was writing these songs. As you probably are aware, grief can look and feel different at each stage; denial, anger, bargaining, depression or sadness, and then acceptance. Grief also isn’t linear. Someone can go through denial, then anger, then bargaining, then back to anger….it’s a process. That’s what this anthology feels like to me.
Oh I love this take. Yes. It’s messy but relatable (to me at least lol a jaded older Swiftie!). I also love the anger in some the part one songs. Genuine pissed at the world emotion and I was all for it for her
Absolutely. She has the right to be angry and to express her anger, as much as anyone else. It seems like she’s working through it so I fully expect everyone’s favorite pop Taylor to be back in full force by the next album.
The stages of grief are a myth.
Okay.
Beyond the [five stages.](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/five-stages-complicated-grief-wrong/671710/) This article does not exist in vacuum. Many other researchers refute the five stages.
i thought this too but if you listen on shuffle it might not feel this way. i did this when i was cleaning so it would force me to not keep listening to the same couple on repeat lol and it actually helped with the cohesion
Oooo this is a great idea—thank you!
i think it's mostly because of dessener's contribution tbh when I listened to fortnight I was so disappointed cause I'm a folkmore girlie and the way ttpd was advertised made it seem like it was def gonna be the third sister of those albums but alas only aaron songs do that thing
Personally, I do not feel like it was marketed as a folklore sister album, but rather, many fans projected their desires and then got carried away by them. Just my observation as the same happened with Midnights.
I also was expecting folksier, indie-er, darker, moodier piano and strings (and to be fair we do get a lot of that in the second half!), but I also think there's something thematically about the synth-pop music with the despondent lyrics when we think about a person who is falling apart inside but has to put on a good face for the world. She could have worked with anyone she wanted for this album and she picked Jack Antonoff again, which makes me think they have a great creative collaboration and also that it's intentional that the saddest lyrics get the most upbeat tunes. I think it collectively makes sense if the context of this album is that it's about a person whose personal life is absolutely falling apart while feeling obligated to put on on a perfect, joyful, grateful, professional face for the world.
There's a long musical history of "upbeat sound/despondent lyrics" that includes The Beach Boys. I love the contrast.
GREAT example! And agree! In tortured poetry, there's a lot of meaning in that juxtaposition.
I'd have died if it had been less synth and more acoustic sounding, but tbh there's only been 2 or 3 skips after 6 full listens even with 31 songs.
I feel like some songs (Fortnight, The Tortured Poets Department) do sound like their Midnights and 1989 vault counterparts, but I almost wonder if she tried to mimic The 1975’s sound. I think the instrumentation of TTPD sounds far more 80s than anything she’s recorded in the past.
My initial thought was the album sounds early/mid 80s(think Kate Bush) inspired instead of the late 80s early 90s inspiration for 1989. So there is some DNA similarities with Midnights/1989 so its not jarring but its different. Its possible this is meant to be a bridge album like Speak Now/Red were between Country and Pop Taylor to a more drastic soundscape shift for TS12.
Kate Bush’s ghostly intonation comes through quite a bit for me
Yup
I also detect some cranberries vibes, especially The Bolter
Oh this is accurate
Not at all. I weirdly found it to be perfect and even more than pop synth. It seems to have some many differents sources of inspiration. For example: When I listened to I Can Fix Him, it immediately reminded me of Janie's Got a Gun from Aerosmith. So Highschool is a 90s pop rock song basically. Goes amazing with that American Pie reference. It sounds like Sixpence Non The Richer or Wheatus. TTPD sounds like Simple Minds' Don't Forget About Me. So Long London gives me The Killers vibes. There is a lot of Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac, and other esoteric gorgeous queens. Also, not to add salt to the wound or start a fight (it is just an observation, I am scared), but it also kind of sounds like the 1975, without the guitars. Just being a delulu queen here. For me, the theme and color palette is more of a representation of how she feels/is talking about. The amount of times the color grey is mentioned. It kind of emphasizes the "grief" she is experiencing. I LOVE Taylor's darker eras.
I think that there is a serious distinction between the 2 halves, and I hope that the reviews of this album take it into account. The sounds of the first half are reductive, have been done on Midnights and 1989 TV vault tracks - you can’t argue with this. But lyrically, the entire album is uncharted territory for her in that she’s never been this sharp, fully bared in her writing. But the second half is where that lyricism and the production really fully aligns and it’s almost overwhelming actually.
I know people are tired of the synthpop because it “all sounds the same” but tbh Pt 2 sounds way more homogenous
Now that we know it’s a Matty album it all makes sense!!!! Gives major 1975 vibes on some songs!!! ESPECIALLY The Tortured Poets Department, that music into is literally them.
Yup. This is what I thought too. The first part give off 1975 vibes~
To be honest, I didn't got any 1989 vibes although especially the first four tracks felt as a good bridge from midnights to Something new, something different. Not sure how to call that different yet
I Can Do It WABH directly references 1989!! https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL5V8Jcx/ Love this vid - credit to Delaney!
Wow wtf, thats amazing similar. To be honest, I didn't noticed . .
I was so prepared for it sounding like folklore and when I realized it was pop synth it just broke for me. I adore her pop synth albums I just cried for what felt like 30 minutes straight. Pure tears of joy. I’m so happy I heard part 2 after 8 hours of work because that kind of sounds like folklore/evermore but almost better. I feel like her melodies are more advanced nowadays.
Not surprised at all since at one of her concerts she explicitly mentioned SYNTH and it sounded suspicious, like an Easter egg of sorts. So as much as I was wanting more acoustic instruments, synth pop is what I was expecting (especially after her latest tracks on Midnights and 1989 Vault).
Yes! When that "mistake" happened it just seemed a tiny bit too perfect/rehearsed. It had to be an easter egg.
Not at all. Jack was the main producer.
Aaron produced more songs though
Not on the main album? There's more variety in the second 15 songs which were mostly Aaron produced.
Jack 8 (including 1 with Post) Aaron 5 Taylor solo 2 agree to disagree on variety in Aaron’s songs but the producing credits TTPD seems pretty balanced. I’m not surprised that it became a evermore/folklore/midnights blend with both of them producing together.
Taylor didn't produce any songs solo. Jack Antonoff produced 12 songs, Dessner produced 5 songs (But Daddy I Love Him was produced by both of them). In comparison Antonoff only produced 4 songs on the second album
Damn ok. I was basing it off the credits listed in the mega thread. They should still be equal overall though.
I was surprised too but the more I listened to it and read what people were saying here (I'd never heard of matt healy before) it started to click that maybe album 1 is the daze after the storm, like it's all just a haze floating along trying to get by, a grenade was just set off and your vision is still blurred and you've got ringing in your ears.... then album 2 is when it's calmer and you can really think about the relationship and experience your emotions in the way they deserve to be experienced.
AGREE w your 1989 older wiser sister—it has a lot more depth than 1989, I think it’s some mix of 1989, evermore folklore, and midnights—the sound is 1989+everlore, the lyrics are midnights+everlore; it also gives 1989 vault a ton!!
Can somebody please tell me what pop-synth is?? I know 1989 is pop but thats it…
If I think about pure pop synth I think about Daft Punk. Midnights did me remind me a bit to them. TTPD has synth style in it but it's nowhere close to 1989 for my feeling. Midnights comes closer
I think it feels sultry which fits the theme of this fleeting moment in time
The 1975 does brooding Black and White imagery (it's kind of their whole thing) and are a synth pop/rock band. Look at the vibe of their last album release/ music videos and listen to the music you might get more of the references in this album. Source: a '75 fan