Maps of Music

evermore (2020)

Where the lyrics of evermore take you, and where it was really made.

Evermore was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, and Swift announced it only one day earlier, on December 10.

Key places

Recording place listed as Kitty Committee, Los Angeles (2020)

Recording site Kitty Committee — The album's recording place is listed as Kitty Committee in Los Angeles. The point marks the listed studio location, not a confirmed exact address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Evermore: ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift
• Surprise-released on 11 December 2020 through Republic Records
• Conceived by Swift as a sister record to Folklore, released in July 2020
• Haim, the National, and Bon Iver appear as featured artists
• Spare arrangements of fingerpicked guitars, pianos, strings, subtle synths, and programmed drums

Background

• Folklore was written and produced while Swift self-isolated during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020
• Swift worked on half of Folklore with Aaron Dessner of the National, a first-time collaborator
• In September 2020, Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner filmed the documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions in the Hudson Valley
• Evermore expanded on the imaginary world of Folklore with fictional narratives
• Swift designated Evermore and Folklore as sister records in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe

Recording

• Swift recorded Evermore mainly with Aaron Dessner at his Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley
• Many of Swift's vocals were recorded in person at Long Pond, using Dessner's Telefunken microphone and Siemens preamplifiers
• In late 2020, Dessner arranged an extended session at Scarlet Pimpernel Studios at Marcus Mumford's home in Devon
• Due to pandemic restrictions, other collaborators such as Justin Vernon and Bryce Dessner worked virtually

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania.
• Named after singer-songwriter James Taylor.
• Moved to Nashville area at 14 to pursue a country music career.
• Signed with Big Machine Records in 2005.

Career

• Debut album Taylor Swift (2006) peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200.
• Fearless (2008) spent eleven weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 and was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US.
• Shifted from country to pop with 1989 (2014), which spent eleven weeks at number one.
• Released Folklore and Evermore (2020), indie folk albums that debuted at number one.
• Re-recorded her first six albums after a dispute over her master recordings.
• The Eras Tour (2023–2024) became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
• Holds 14 Grammy Awards, including a record four Album of the Year wins.
• Named Time Person of the Year in 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Evermore received critical acclaim on release
• Metacritic weighted mean score of 85 from 29 reviews, indicating universal acclaim
• The Independent (Helen Brown), The Guardian (Alexis Petridis), Stereogum (Tom Breihan), and The Sydney Morning Herald (Lancaster Brodie) praised the character studies as intricate
• Spin (Bobby Olivier) and NME (Hannah Mylrea) highlighted Swift's command of language, wordplay, and turn of phrase
• The New York Times (Jon Pareles) said the character studies were more extensive than those on Folklore
• Several critics, including Alan Light, Tom Breihan, and Hannah Mylrea, regarded Evermore as musically riskier and more experimental than Folklore
• The Atlantic (Spencer Kornhaber) wrote that some metaphors were imprecise and self-indulgent and could have been edited
• Los Angeles Times (Mikael Wood) found some incredible songs, but many tracks sounded like leftovers of Folklore
• The Washington Post (Chris Richards) gave an outright negative review, calling the lyrics subpar except for Marjorie

Reappraisal

• The Independent ranked Evermore 14th on its 2024 list of the 20 most underrated albums
• Roisin O'Connor argued it was arguably Swift's biggest creative flex

Records

• Debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart dated December 26, 2020, her eighth number-one album
• Spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200
• Peaked at number one in Flanders, Canada, Greece, New Zealand, and Portugal
• Certified four-times platinum by the RIAA in September 2025
• Certified quadruple platinum in Canada, triple platinum in Brazil and New Zealand, double platinum in Australia and the United Kingdom
• Nominated for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022
• Won Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 2021 American Music Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Swift announced Evermore on December 10, 2020, one day before the surprise release.
• Evermore was Swift's second surprise album of 2020, after Folklore.
• Swift appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 14, 2020 to promote the album.
• Paul McCartney moved the release of his album McCartney III to December 18 after learning Swift had planned Evermore for that date.
• In February 2021, the Utah theme park Evermore Park sued Swift over the Evermore trademark; both sides agreed to dismiss their suits in March 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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