Vintage tee, brand new phone, Taylor Swift has recorded yet another surprise album to make you feel less alone.
Less than five months after she dropped her eighth studio album, Folklore, without any warning, the Grammy-winning singer has announced the surprise release of her new record titled “evermore,” which will be made available everywhere on Thursday night.
For the album, Swift Taylor collaborated with her Folklore co-writers Aaron Dessner of The National, Bleachers frontman and producer Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and, of course, songwriter William Bowery, who she recently revealed is a pseudonym for her boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn.
“To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in,” Taylor wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
“I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning.”
She added: “I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.”
Evermore will span 15 tracks, and the deluxe digital album will include two bonus songs.
Haim, The National and Bon Iver will all feature on the record.
The singer went onto reveal that album serves as an early present for her fans to coincide with her 31st birthday on Sunday, noting that the milestone is her lucky number 13 in reverse.
“You’ve all been so caring, supportive and thoughtful on my birthdays and so this time I thought I would give you something,” she added. “I also know this holiday season will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you.”
Taylor also revealed that she’ll be releasing a music video for the album’s lead single, “willow,” along with the record, adding that “every precaution was made” to ensure the safety of cast and crew members on set.
In a photo announcing the video, Taylor is wearing a cream-white lace dress that resembles a wedding gown — which is sure to fuel speculation that she’s already engaged to Joe Alwyn.