Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album folklore came out overnight, just as the singer had announced less than a full day earlier.
The 16-song collection came together with the help of the National’s Aaron Dessner as well as Bon Iver (who is featured on one track), William Bowery (rumoured to be a pseudonym for beau Joe Alwyn) and Swift’s frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Swift said she was inspired to create the new music during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness,” she explained in a message on social media. “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory.
"I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down.”
Swift also put out a self-directed video for “cardigan." In the song, she sings: "When I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed / You put me on and said I was your favourite."
(Fans can wrap themselves in the same cream cable knit cardigan for just $49 U.S.)
Watch the video for “cardigan” below: