Yesterday, Taylor Swift announced that her ninth studio album ‘evermore’ drops worldwide today and the project is accompanied by lead single ‘willow’ – a thumping, emotional alternative track which effortlessly shows off both her songwriting skills and vocal talent.
In her self-directed video for the song, which she co-wrote with Aaron Dessner who also produced the song, Swift hearkens back to familiar scenes from her past. It opens with Swift in the cabin where Folklore‘s “Cardigan” visual is set, its piano once again offering an escape to a fantastical place where she sees a love’s reflection in a pool of water. When she jumps in, she’s transported to a carnival, where she is one of the attractions, but when she appears to be trapped, she magically is presented with a way out.
The connection between her new video and her previous work adds to the continuity between ‘evermore’ and her previous album ‘folklore’ – which Swift revealed serves as the sister album to the new record.
Swift recorded both albums in quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic with songwriters/producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, and both feature duets with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. She also wrote several songs on both albums with “William Bowery,” the pseudonym for her boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Additionally, Evermore includes collaborations with Haim as well as Dessner’s band The National.
Watch the music video for ‘Willow’ here:
