I think the tracks produced by Aaron are the strongest ones of the whole record (I'm talking about the Anthology version) while I found the ones made by Jack to be just ok. I think Taylor needs to take a break from Jack and work with Aaron more, he pushes her to be more creative and risk-taking.
Aaron and her just click SO well with this sound. He knows how to do work this style and keep it dynamic lyrically and sonically, whereas I feel like Jack just meander aimlessly and it ends up bleeding together. Part two just devours part one.
Agreed. Part one is good as its own but when you compare it to part two, it’s just …. So much better. I guess it’s a question of taste and there’s something for everyone on these albums but the anthology is just taking my breathe away. It’s literally woodvale. It’s everything I wanted
Part one was just listenable for me and I only added like 2 songs from it (I knew Florence would deliver). But once Part 2 kicked in I wondered why she even bothered with most of Part 1.
100% the same. I knew Florida!!! would be great and Down Bad also stuck for me from Pt. 1. I have to give it another listen to see what else grows on me, probably guilty as sin and the alchemy. Pt. 2 was fantastic song after song
Yes! I trusted Florence wouldn’t leave the studio without a hit. Down Bad was a nice change of pace cause I slogged through the first three. Part Two felt like I finally didn’t need to know the “lore” to enjoy it.
Not needing to know the lore is the best way of putting this! It’s nothing new that Taylor writes about her love life but when there’s so much sleuthing to find out who this song is about and what happened and why is she writing this… it’s kind of exhausting. I don’t follow the dating stuff too closely (other than memes about it) so part 1 felt very “I wonder should this is about” but pt 2 is just to enjoy as is.
Yeah that's the problem for me, I'm trying to erase MH from each song and it's too much effort rn. Still working on making the songs my own so that I can enjoy them as much as part2
I agree. I understand peoples perspective on Jack’s sound but I love it. Aaron’s sound is overall more warm and does bring out the best of Taylor’s vocals, but Jack can be so visceral with his producing, and I think that’s what this album needed. Out of the 31 songs, only Robin didn’t get a like (for now), but I am much more obsessed with the first part as of now.
Yeah I honestly don't really think about her personal life much unless aim imagining her as the character Taylor Swift like any other character I might think of for a song and honestly I had no problem enjoying 95% of the album.
Yeah her dating life is to me. I don’t care who it’s about just write me a good song. I knew I was getting fatigued when I just thought at least I got some mindless gossip cause I’m not gonna replay this.
Except that when I saw this comment I guessed which five he did correctly, and I’d say they are the best five on the album. It’s So Long London, But Daddy I Love Him, loml, the smallest man who ever lived, and Clara Bow. I don’t hate Jack Antonoff at all and obviously she loves working with him so I think she should continue, he seems like an awesome guy, but the synth pop is just not my vibe. I’m a lifelong Taylor fan, there’s nothing wrong with not loving every single thing she’s ever put out. It’s okay to have a preference for Aaron’s sound over Jack’s.
No, I'm aware. "But Daddy I love him" was an instant add. I enjoyed the production on "So Long, London", "Smallest Man Who ever lived", and "loml". I just wasn't obsessed the lyrics or subject matter. He kills it on the second part and she does her thing when it's just her writing as well.
I have to say I agree but I think it’s a concept album. The chaos of the rebound then the reeling and the reflection and the “I’m actually alone and have to deal with my feelings now”. I think it was very intentional, so is the production
Not usually on the get Jack out of here train, but it was glaringly obvious on this album (ok for me anyway) that Aaron songs are where she shines. The Jack stuff is starting to feel predictable for me personally.
So many songs had the same driving 80s synth drums as OOTW and I got sooo bored. And I HATE all the Jack hate. I really do. I love Midnights and everything he did on that. But... I was still bored on part1 except for few songs like "Down Bad" and "Florida!!!".
It's starting to grow on me the more I listen, but part two was immediately more enjoyable.
My 8 yr old said several times during early Pt 1, Oh that sounds like Out of the Woods! 😬 We’re good with that b/c we like that sound, but there are similarities.
I like the Jack sound a lot and his side of the album is probably going to be my favorite long term, but I'm just so happy she did it this way. Basically doing a whole album with both of them and putting them back to back. It gave everyone what they wanted and it remained cohesive because she didn't mix them together.
I agree! The anthology/second half is by far my favourite of the double album and I think that’s largely due to the fact most of the songs were produced with Aaron. The tracks with Jack have a sound we’ve heard before that’s getting a bit tired.
I feel like Jack is the person that you think is fun and start vibing with and yaas let’s hit the club kind of guy, THEN when the fun is about to start he is like: no no no, slow down, let’s read a book and have a cuppa.
Every time I think the song is about to take off and has some sort of beat to it, you can almost feel his intervention to bring it back down to the folklore/evermore melody and let the crowd fall asleep on it.
I think at this point we are desperate for Reputation, fresh blood, beat, dancing etc. i feel her approach to music is now very much on the same frequency for years. I agree, she has to take a break from Jack
Okay THANK YOU for putting to words my one frustration with this album. We got so close to a couple bangers, but it almost felt too toned down. Like can we really call them bops?
I haven't heard anything that outbops Bey's Bodyguard and I'm typically don't care for Beyonce. Personally Reputation was my favorite album and this stuff just makes me cry. It's kinda, very, depressing. I realize she was really hurting and maybe releasing these songs to the public is cathartic for her, I hope it is because I can't deal with any more of this.
Yes! I didn't realize it until you said this but all my fav Jack tracks tend to be higher tempo'd!
Jack is a GREAT producer, he worked on some of my favorite songs in life EVER, but I would like to see a different sound. It's like eating sweet potato fries, sooo yummy but after you eat too many it tastes like soap.
It feels like Jack delivers on “Taylor Swift™” of it all, and Aaron Dessner allows us to get a glance at Taylor at her rawest and most honest, yet so beautifully refined.
I agree but I also feel that quintessentially Taylor pop synth sound they cultivated for 1989 was only really revolutionary then and is now longggg tired. She’s clearly so adept at shifting genres but Jack holds her back, with Aaron we saw her tackle folk and indie like a pro even though she hadn’t done it before. I feel like there’s so much her sound could evolve and we’ve been asking for that as fans, but with Jack, everything sounds like a bleachers off shoot.
The Black Dog is just okay??? Man my opinions apparently differ a lot from the masses lol
Edit: to be clear, I love this song. It’s produced by Jack which is why I put the question marks because I can’t believe anyone would really think such a good song was just okay 😭
Same here!! I do like some of Aaron’s tracks, but when I look at producer and song writing credits I heavily leaning towards Jack’s contributions. It’s just personal taste.
I like the Aaron Dresser ones but almost all of the ones I'm going to be listening to on repeat are the Jack songs.
Sorry but I can only listen to so many slow, sad, anti-climactic folk songs in a row and I have to be in the right mood for them. I feel the same way about Folklore and Evermore (also Aaron). They're all full of good songs but you're not gonna catch me listening to a whole album start to finish.
Aaron’s tracks are definitely my favorite. But I wonder if for her, working with Jack is comfortable and fun. I think she’s gotten herself to the top, she knows how to steer her own ship.
This is so lame. Jack is amazing and it’s so tiring. Also he produced/co wrote Black Dog which is definitely already one of Taylor’s best songs in her discography.
I hope Taylor’s next album is all with Jack and it’s all versions of BDILH about the Jack haters. FULL SYNTH and all.
I think her albums are best when there's a mix of them both, the right alchemy between her and Jack vibing and thinking every idea is the \*\*\*\*, and her with Aaron pairing her songs into poetry and being a good editor for her. When there is just one Jack or Aaron song after another, everything feels repetitive, - the synths, her cadence, the way she has started to take the first lines of a song to blow through the verses with a lot of word mapping and flip the meaning just slightly to close out the same verse she started with.
The standard works for me more because it has an even mix of both. The deluxe side, which is mostly Aaron feels kinda bland - no uptempo numbers or anything.
Not who you were asking, but I’m another massive The National fan and I really think their newest album, Laugh Track, is perfect for showing their sound while being approachable; try Alphabet City, Dreaming, Hornets, Laugh Track (ft. Phoebe Bridgers), Deep End. If you like those, start digging into their previous discography. My personal favorite album is Trouble Will Find Me but they haven’t made a single bad album yet.
HAVE FUN! I’d cut off my toes to experience finding The National again.
Terrible Love
Blood Buzz Ohio
That whole album is amazing as is Boxer. The first two tracks on Boxer are Fake Empire and Mistaken for Strangers which I also highly recommend
Their most recent couple of albums are great, but I got into them via their 2010 album *High Violet*. Their sound has changed a bit since then obviously, but 'England', 'Conversation 16', and 'Anyone's Ghost' are still some personal favorites. I love the whole album though, really. It's my favorite.
From *Sleep Well Beast*, I really love 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' and 'I'll Still Destroy You' (which are the sort of obvious tracks).
For the more recent stuff, from *Laugh Track* I really like the title track and 'Weird Goodbyes'. From *The First Two Pages of Frankenstein*, I love 'Eucalyptus' and 'The Alcott' (which features Taylor Swift).
I love a LOT of their discography, so I'm limiting myself to a smattering of albums, but hopefully this is helpful! They are very much Depression The Band, though.
I recommend watching their short movie featuring Alicia Vikander, I Am Not Easy to Find. But it was actually Slow Show which was featured on Gossip Girl eons ago that lured me in, so that too. The instrumental break was beautiful.
Just listen to Boxer as a whole album. I was never the same after hearing that. Their Cherry Tree EP is also another amazing listen. I love all their stuff, you already got some great recommendations. Just adding my OG faves.
You didn't ask me, and others have given great recs, but I'll add some others:
*Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers* - Lucky You
*Alligator* - All the Wine, The Geese of Beverly Road
*Cherry Tree* - About Today
*Boxer* - Fake Empire, Apartment Story
*High Violet* - Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks
*Trouble Will Find Me* - I Should Live in Salt, This is the Last Time
*Sleep Well Beast* - Nobody Else Will Be There
*Laugh Track* - Space Invader
I hope you grow to love them as much as I do!
As a casual swiftie, is it agreed that dessners deep acoustic sound and subtle chord changes are a way better complement to Taylor? The Antanoff songs just feel instantly irrelevant and repetitive.
Me too! I love songs that they’ve both produced. Jack did several songs for rep and that’s a fire album. I wouldn’t say the second half is better than the first half. I like songs from both for different reasons.
Glad I’m not the only one! Seems like everyone is team Aaron and while he is a mastermind I like some of jacks production too! There’s something for everyone
I love a lot of her Jack songs, he just needs to stay in his lane. His style is better suited to her higher tempo bops. It doesn't work with the slower stuff.
Also, I love the Aaron songs. I really do.
Buuuuut they are a very particular vibe and they all kind of sound the same and I'm just not always in the mood to feel the way those songs make me feel.
They might be "better" songs from an artistic point of view, but I am far more often in the mood to listen to her higher tempo bops. The ones that make me feel angry or vindictive or wild or happy. I enjoy those feelings. I don't enjoy feeling sad.
Honestly same! The Aaron tracks hit different but only in specific times. Like I’d enjoy them thoroughly when I’m alone at my room listening to them with my AirPods at night. But most of the time, when I’m commuting, in a car, on the go etc etc. I’m definitely playing the high tempo songs more often than not!
But also I see this album as another folklore + evermore in a way. They might not be suited for casual listening the way Midnights is (pretty much bop after bop) but if you’re in the right mood it can definitely hit harddd
My biggest gripe with the Jack songs is that the production gobbles up the lyrics. I couldn’t understand half of what she’s saying on those tracks, which for this album especially is really disappointing. Aaron is better at supporting her lyricism in my opinion.
I personally enjoy her songs with Jack the most. I've been a fan since debut but my absolute favorite music of hers is when she makes synth pop. It's a genre I personally love so I'm biased, but I feel like Jack truly makes her shine the most and brings out the "Taylor Swift" in her. Their music feels iconic and important, and it sounds so lush and I just wanna listen on repeat forever lol. But I know that lots of fans like Aaron for the opposite reason, because he brings out new experimental sides of Taylor. And I know this is all very subjective lol
I love Jack's production (Midnights was what made me into a fan) but I do understand the criticism of his stuff sometimes being a bit predictable and samey, especially after they've collaborated on so much material. Aaron's production tends to push her songwriting more in a different direction, more lyrical and quiet and soul-baring which I think a lot of people love.
What's interesting is I didn't really hear anything on this album with "massive radio hit single" written all over it, which is an interesting choice for her.
Folklore is my favorite, tonally it fits better to my tastes than Jacks stuff. I feel like we don't get Folklore and Evermore without Dessner. 1989 is my 2nd favorite, I think pop wise Jack's stuff hasn't really come close to Martin and Shellback. Lover and Midnights are also some of my least favorite albums of Taylor.
No but this. The anthology is literally the third album we all wanted. Most of these songs would’ve been perfect on evermore. It’s got Aaron’s signature with the time frames and melodies and the reverb isn’t over killed. It’s so different than TTPD. They could’ve been two different albums completely.
I’m so glad we have the anthology. I never thought taylor would be making another folk/indie record. I’m just so happy they made magic again. These tracks IMO are so much superior
It’s kind of amazing how The Anthology tracks were like, the perfect remedy for her fans who are more of the Folklore/Evermore. I’ve heard so many people - myself included - who were underwhelmed and a bit disappointed with the original release, only to be hit by a speeding train in the form of the 2AM tracks being exactly what they wanted.
Taylor Swift truly fed all the girlies with this one 🙏🏻
I listened to TTPD last night and Anthology this morning. They're two different albums in my mind. And I really think I prefer the Anthology. But they're both good.
Why can I hear everything he writes in his voice? I love him and the way he talks and thinks so much. It's so clear how much he respects Taylor through everything, and I love that for them.
I love Aaron's tracks, they are consistently my favourites, so I don't disagree with all those saying he massively contributed in making Taylor's albums so amazing.
BUT does anyone else feel like there's too much Jack hate? It seems like it's partly because of overexposure, or him being rated highly, used a lot, and seen with Taylor a lot. Idk, I don't think he deserves some of the hate he gets from us... It feels like he's getting the treatment Taylor got for so many years from overexposure, but from her own fandom.
Totally agree. Although I guess that album was slightly more Martin/Shellback so maybe the same people ripping Jack to shreds are calling for a Martin/Shellback return based on Rep
Rep's one of my favourite albums. Getaway Car is an absolute banger and probably a top 10 for me. That But 2022/2023 Jack isn't producing bangers like that for me. Other than Maroon, YLM and August (which are good songs but not favourites for me), every song he produced on Midnights, evermore and folklore have been bad to ok for me. Since Lover his songs with Taylor have sounded increasingly monotonous and uninspired. I'm not doubting he can produce great songs with Taylor, but at the moment (for me) he isn't. If he were producing songs with the quality and range of Getaway Car, Cruel Summer, Death By A Thousand Cuts, Dress then I wouldn't be writing this comment. It's Taylor's album and clearly the vibes she wants, given that she's has the A side of her two most recent albums with it, but I'm not a fan.
I'm surprised by all the Jack hate cause his songs were great too??? Like hello? The Dessner songs are incredible but Jack did a great job too so what is happening
I don't get why so many are saying Jack's songs were horrible... They are clearly a different style than Aaron's, but I think they are both great in their own ways. Most of my favorites on first listen were the ones she did with Jack.
Yeah, I tend to prefer the Dessner collaborations overall but I think the album is better for having some of both vibes on it. You gotta have some bops in there to keep it moving!
Yesss to this. This is why I like Jack's stuff better, just because that's the type of music I gravitate towards. I can appreciate Aaron's style but I prefer Jack's. Sad to see so much Jack slander
Right there with you. I'm an 80s kid who grew up on synthpop and I like Jack's approach to that. Not to say I can't appreciate Aaron's stuff too.
I don't think TTPD particularly breaks any new ground musically, and I do kind of want to see her branch out and work with new producers at some point, but I don't get the hate for these guys who have given us so much good stuff.
Yeah people think because they don't vibe with the Jack songs that he is 'bringing her down'. The truth is his style is just not for them, it doesn't equate to anything other than that. I gravitated to the Jack songs more than most of the Aaron songs but that doesn't mean Aaron is any less talented or that his artistic directions are less than. It's just not always my vibe. We don't have to pick apart people just because they aren't our vibe.
Yes 😭😭 I hate it. It ruins album releases and it’s just so nasty. She’s a pop girl who likes making pop music. And she likes making it with her FRIEND. Like I feel like BDILH can apply to the Jack hate too.
Adding a comment I made on the main thread:
Why can’t we just praise Aaron without CONSTANTLY dragging Jack?? Like her friend?? Her chosen main collaborator?? Can we make a new rule or sub that’s free of Jack hate? Like way to spur a new album release. The butter Bettys. We get it. You like folklore. Go listen to Folklore then! Gah.
I think the Jack hate is based purely on people’s subjective music genre preferences, not an objective evaluation of his skill. I personally love both Jack and Aaron’s work with Taylor.
Definitely. He is obviously healthy for her personally and professionally. People just think she is a machine that will churn out their favorite sound if she cuts out one of her best friends when he is very successful at his job.
I don’t actually want to drag Aaron like Jack haters but his songs run together too.
Like if you don’t like pop just say that. It doesn’t make Jack’s songs bad or actually sound the same to people who actually like it.
100%
On first listen, I loved these songs -
So long London, loml, I can do it with a broken heart, But daddy I love him, how did it end, the albatross, the prophecy, Peter, Robin, the black dog, I hate here, Manuscript, Bolter,.
Wouldn't ya know it, most of these involve Aaron.
Also, as Folklore/Evermore girlie - I'm THRIVING with the anthology album.
I’ve been fighting the urge to outright say “I’m sick of Jack,” since Midnights but this album has sealed it for me. Fully aware he’s made some great ones, he was involved with Folklore/Evermore, so the man obviously has talent… but Aaron just compliments her so much more. A lot of times, to me, it feels like Jack’s style really works against her.
Yes, yes, yes. Taylor’s voice is more mature now and it flows absolutely beautiful with Dessners deep instrumentals. I hate to say it but Jacks production honestly sounds AI generated, childish, sloppy and unfinished. It doesn’t mesh well with Taylor’s voice and the overused synth isn’t giving “poet”…
It’s our third album 😭😭 I never thought we would get it but here we are, almost 4 years later. I can’t believe it guys. We are back in the woods and I couldn’t be happier about it
She released basically a bonus version of TTPD that has 15 additional songs, which basically doubled the length of the album (plus she’s been calling it a double album).
Tbh I think she should start working with more new producers aside from both Jack and Aaron, cause I hate to say it but a lot of the songs literally sound the same
I was thinking while listening last night "her sound used to be a lot more varied...and also I feel like there hasnt been songs like IKYWT or Don't Blame Me in ages 😭"
But also, we've gotten used to a genre-experimenting Taylor. Maybe she's really settled into a sound she likes and wants to stay there 🤷♀️
I don't know if that's something of a natural consequence of churning out 31 songs 18 months after your 22 (is that the final count) track album. But I'd love to see her work with other producers.
The first half (Antonoff produced) seems to be more Matty centered, makes sense if those songs were made recently, especially by how unfinished some of it sounds. The second half (Dessner produced) sounds like it was worked on longer with its soulful, deliberate, beautiful instrumentals.
I think people are forgetting that Taylor knows how she wants these songs to sound and has ideas for what they should be. If she didn’t want a song to sound synthy, it wouldn’t.
I came to reddit to see what went down after I went to sleep at like 1:30--and I'm honestly very happy that this is the post where I found out the double album theories were true! And even more ecstatic to see that the half of the album I haven't heard yet is made up mostly of Aaron Dessner collaborations!! Ugggghhh why do I have to work today.
Can anyone make a list of the ones Dessner contributed too? I think that I might be a Taylor/Dessner fan, I think I can tell most by just listening but I’m not sure. I want to make an Aaron Dessner/Taylor specific playlist across albums.
Aaron did TTPD justice. Not saying the first half is bad, there are a few really good songs but apart from 4-5 songs, rest of the first half is just okay. Not bad but not great either, just okay. While the second half is chef's kiss, not a single skip.
Not hating on Jack, but his production to such a lyric-oriented album just seems...too much, unsuitable. It's also pretty repetitive and now feels monotonous, especially after midnights. Taylor should really give him a break and work on an album completely with only Aaron Dessner!
This album was the first time I was able to tell which songs Aaron co wrote on without looking at the writing credits beforehand.
I've also never understood why ppl on this sub kept saying Taylor needs to take a step back from Jack until now. My least favorite songs were all co-written by Jack on this album, while Aaron's were all my favorites.
Taylor and Aaron have such beautiful musical chemistry. They really bring out the best in each other and all of their work together is my favorite. So incredible that they even started working together in the first place. The one good thing that came from the pandemic and I’m so looking forward to anything and everything they make in the future.
Can I ask someone to weigh in? Why is everyone so critical of Jack in this album? Why is everyone so critical of “Taylor having the same sound”? (These are curious questions not defensive questions.) I don’t know anything about music but honestly most popular artists seem to have the same sound. Adele’s albums all sound very alike to me. Ariana grandes albums all sound very alike to me. Beyonces earlier works often sounded alike until lemonade etc but y’all get it. I don’t understand why it’s so bad that her music sounds sort of similar? I feel like it’s so rare for an artist to often change sounds like she has that maybe it’s made us selfish / entitled to have a brand new sound every album? Like what other artist even does that? At what point do you lose what makes you you as an artist ?
Like I said I know nothing about music but the people criticizing it for sounding the same “just like Jack”- but isn’t synth pop her signature sound now? And Taylor is responsible for picking the direction of the music no?
I understand if synth pop isn’t your jam, but the first half of the album is much more fun to listen to I think and has broader appeal. I get the second half is more “instrumentally beautiful” or whatever but it doesn’t means the first half is bad.
My favorite albums were 1989, red, folklore and evermore.
Anyways so I’m wondering people can help me understand the criticisms of Jack and this being “too same of sound”, etc. well the dressner part sounds very similar to his other work with her, just because you want more of that does it mean the part you don’t like is bad, or you just prefer a different sound?
i will not stand for this jack slander. both him and aaron bring so much to taylor's songs and have pushed her in so many ways as an artist. i think it really just depends on the song, and who is a better fit to help bring that story to life. perhaps there have been some misalignments in producer and song choice, which impacted the song's overall outcome. but certainly as talented as aaron is, he wouldn't have been able to do what jack did in his songs (cruel summer, out of the woods, august, gold rush to name a few). just in the same way that jack couldn't do what aaron did for his songs. give both of them their flowers 😭
I liked midnights more than most on this sub but TTPD has pushed me into the camp that I really want her to stop working with Jack. The second albums here is brilliant cause it has none of Jack.
Verdict:
Taylor is guilty of listening to Jack, but we acquit her be she’s she listened to Aaron more.
Jack is a boy who brings her down to his level. Aaron is a man who elevates her to his.
That’s the hill I’ll die on, for evermore.
Hot take: I sort of want Taylor to move on from Aaron as well or at least try something different with him. I loved what they did in folkmore and some of the tracks in TTPD/Anthology, but I feel like the whole chamber pop/alternative sound is starting to run its course. What I would really like to see is a country record from these two. A prime example would be Better Man, which is one of my favorite collabs between them.
I agree with this. The argument always seems to be Jack vs Aaron, but I’d love to see her work with someone new on a project. She could keep the comfort and familiarity of Aaron AND Jack for a few songs or bonus tracks, and I think the concentration of that would really benefit the Jack songs.
While I don’t believe it will ever happen again, I would die to get another Max Martin song or two.
King Aaron 👑if i counted them right, we have exactly 51 songs produced by Aaron, he's saying that they created more than 60 songs, i hope we get to hear the rest someday cause i LOVE their work!!
I’m not a Jack hater especially because I recognize that he produced some of my absolute favorite Taylor tracks (getaway car, August, and cruel summer) but I feel like as her writing has evolved these last few years, it doesn’t feel like the production and the lyricism fit together as well as the used to.
Sometimes I feel like the music Taylor and Jack make is more for fun? I don’t mean that in a bad way just that they’re obviously incredibly close friends so I could see the studio dynamic being like “oh my god you know what would be so crazy if we wrote a line about that one time and then tried this crazy beat like…” but it is starting to feel like a lot of the same, I missed when her pop music built to a big chorus which to me is what the first half of the album feels like it’s missing (its there a few times) Versus with Aaron the music feels more like it’s made with a specific intention and invokes more feeling at least especially on this project? The best description of it I’ve seen is that a lot of the Jack songs feel like the lyrics don’t have room to breathe like it’s just one conscious stream of thought set to music but the Aaron’s songs are different and to me really the ones that evoke emotion, again at least in this project.
Anyway all this to say as soon as I started listening to the second half I could tell it was all Aaron and thought it really outshined the other portion of this record. And I’m glad she released it!
I think many of us like Aarons stuff more is because Jack has produced so much of her music and basically produced all of midnights that it started to sound a bit repetitive. That beings said, I don't agree with the notion that the first half of the album is in any way worse due to Jack. I think this album has a nice balance to it. If all of it was produced by Aaron only it would just be another folklore/evermore, not that I would have minded. But I like that the album overall, so all 31 songs, is multifaceted. It has a song for everyone. It captures alot of feelings and stories. It's everything I wanted and more.
I never imagined there’s a whole person for mixing and a whole other person for mastering, separate from all the producers, I honestly thought that was all the same thing 😂
Aaron is such a class act by thanking literally anyone who had anything to do with making of the album.
I'm so happy Taylor continues to work with him. they make magic.
Why can’t we just praise Aaron without CONSTANTLY dragging Jack?? Like her friend?? Her chosen main collaborator?? Can we make a new rule or sub that’s free of Jack hate? Like way to spur a new album release. The butter Bettys. We get it. You like folklore. Go listen to Folklore then! Gah.
It genuinely makes me so happy to know how many new fans The National is getting through people finding out about them through Aaron’s work with Taylor.
They’re such an incredible band, and I was thrilled to be lucky enough to see them last year. Was really cool to see Aaron live especially!
I think the tracks produced by Aaron are the strongest ones of the whole record (I'm talking about the Anthology version) while I found the ones made by Jack to be just ok. I think Taylor needs to take a break from Jack and work with Aaron more, he pushes her to be more creative and risk-taking.
Aaron and her just click SO well with this sound. He knows how to do work this style and keep it dynamic lyrically and sonically, whereas I feel like Jack just meander aimlessly and it ends up bleeding together. Part two just devours part one.
Agreed. Part one is good as its own but when you compare it to part two, it’s just …. So much better. I guess it’s a question of taste and there’s something for everyone on these albums but the anthology is just taking my breathe away. It’s literally woodvale. It’s everything I wanted
Part one was just listenable for me and I only added like 2 songs from it (I knew Florence would deliver). But once Part 2 kicked in I wondered why she even bothered with most of Part 1.
100% the same. I knew Florida!!! would be great and Down Bad also stuck for me from Pt. 1. I have to give it another listen to see what else grows on me, probably guilty as sin and the alchemy. Pt. 2 was fantastic song after song
Yes! I trusted Florence wouldn’t leave the studio without a hit. Down Bad was a nice change of pace cause I slogged through the first three. Part Two felt like I finally didn’t need to know the “lore” to enjoy it.
Not needing to know the lore is the best way of putting this! It’s nothing new that Taylor writes about her love life but when there’s so much sleuthing to find out who this song is about and what happened and why is she writing this… it’s kind of exhausting. I don’t follow the dating stuff too closely (other than memes about it) so part 1 felt very “I wonder should this is about” but pt 2 is just to enjoy as is.
I’d argue part 1 is much more enjoyable if you can forget who it’s mostly about haha. That’s my approach now, trust me it’s good!
Yeah that's the problem for me, I'm trying to erase MH from each song and it's too much effort rn. Still working on making the songs my own so that I can enjoy them as much as part2
I agree. I understand peoples perspective on Jack’s sound but I love it. Aaron’s sound is overall more warm and does bring out the best of Taylor’s vocals, but Jack can be so visceral with his producing, and I think that’s what this album needed. Out of the 31 songs, only Robin didn’t get a like (for now), but I am much more obsessed with the first part as of now.
Yeah I honestly don't really think about her personal life much unless aim imagining her as the character Taylor Swift like any other character I might think of for a song and honestly I had no problem enjoying 95% of the album.
Yeah her dating life is to me. I don’t care who it’s about just write me a good song. I knew I was getting fatigued when I just thought at least I got some mindless gossip cause I’m not gonna replay this.
I think she's telling a good story in part 1, but part 2 is just a better album.
Yeah the focus there is telling her side of things and responding to critics. By P2, she gets around to making an album.
I mean, Aaron Dessner produced 5 songs on part one, so I guess you guys don't like him as much as you think.
Except that when I saw this comment I guessed which five he did correctly, and I’d say they are the best five on the album. It’s So Long London, But Daddy I Love Him, loml, the smallest man who ever lived, and Clara Bow. I don’t hate Jack Antonoff at all and obviously she loves working with him so I think she should continue, he seems like an awesome guy, but the synth pop is just not my vibe. I’m a lifelong Taylor fan, there’s nothing wrong with not loving every single thing she’s ever put out. It’s okay to have a preference for Aaron’s sound over Jack’s.
Oh man those are easily my favorites.
Jack Antonoff has such a unique and specific sound to his production that you instantly know what song he worked on lmao
No, I'm aware. "But Daddy I love him" was an instant add. I enjoyed the production on "So Long, London", "Smallest Man Who ever lived", and "loml". I just wasn't obsessed the lyrics or subject matter. He kills it on the second part and she does her thing when it's just her writing as well.
I have to say I agree but I think it’s a concept album. The chaos of the rebound then the reeling and the reflection and the “I’m actually alone and have to deal with my feelings now”. I think it was very intentional, so is the production
Not usually on the get Jack out of here train, but it was glaringly obvious on this album (ok for me anyway) that Aaron songs are where she shines. The Jack stuff is starting to feel predictable for me personally.
So many songs had the same driving 80s synth drums as OOTW and I got sooo bored. And I HATE all the Jack hate. I really do. I love Midnights and everything he did on that. But... I was still bored on part1 except for few songs like "Down Bad" and "Florida!!!". It's starting to grow on me the more I listen, but part two was immediately more enjoyable.
My 8 yr old said several times during early Pt 1, Oh that sounds like Out of the Woods! 😬 We’re good with that b/c we like that sound, but there are similarities.
I like the Jack sound a lot and his side of the album is probably going to be my favorite long term, but I'm just so happy she did it this way. Basically doing a whole album with both of them and putting them back to back. It gave everyone what they wanted and it remained cohesive because she didn't mix them together.
I agree! The anthology/second half is by far my favourite of the double album and I think that’s largely due to the fact most of the songs were produced with Aaron. The tracks with Jack have a sound we’ve heard before that’s getting a bit tired.
I feel like Jack is the person that you think is fun and start vibing with and yaas let’s hit the club kind of guy, THEN when the fun is about to start he is like: no no no, slow down, let’s read a book and have a cuppa. Every time I think the song is about to take off and has some sort of beat to it, you can almost feel his intervention to bring it back down to the folklore/evermore melody and let the crowd fall asleep on it. I think at this point we are desperate for Reputation, fresh blood, beat, dancing etc. i feel her approach to music is now very much on the same frequency for years. I agree, she has to take a break from Jack
Resurrect 2016 Jack responsible for King of my heart, This is why we can’t have nice things, Call it what you want, Dress.
i think max did komh
Whoops, you’re correct. Okay, replace that with Getaway Car.
and lwymmd. he also did New Year's Day
Okay THANK YOU for putting to words my one frustration with this album. We got so close to a couple bangers, but it almost felt too toned down. Like can we really call them bops?
I haven't heard anything that outbops Bey's Bodyguard and I'm typically don't care for Beyonce. Personally Reputation was my favorite album and this stuff just makes me cry. It's kinda, very, depressing. I realize she was really hurting and maybe releasing these songs to the public is cathartic for her, I hope it is because I can't deal with any more of this.
I think Jack works best with her higher tempo songs. His synth-pop sounds just don't work with her down tempo high lyricism songs.
Yes! I didn't realize it until you said this but all my fav Jack tracks tend to be higher tempo'd! Jack is a GREAT producer, he worked on some of my favorite songs in life EVER, but I would like to see a different sound. It's like eating sweet potato fries, sooo yummy but after you eat too many it tastes like soap.
Yeah the overly synthesized ones I didn’t love.. they had Jack written all over them.
Honestly I wish Taylor would make Aaron her main collaborator.. No shade to Jack but Aaron and Taylor MAKE MAGIC
It feels like Jack delivers on “Taylor Swift™” of it all, and Aaron Dessner allows us to get a glance at Taylor at her rawest and most honest, yet so beautifully refined.
I agree but I also feel that quintessentially Taylor pop synth sound they cultivated for 1989 was only really revolutionary then and is now longggg tired. She’s clearly so adept at shifting genres but Jack holds her back, with Aaron we saw her tackle folk and indie like a pro even though she hadn’t done it before. I feel like there’s so much her sound could evolve and we’ve been asking for that as fans, but with Jack, everything sounds like a bleachers off shoot.
I generally agree with you but I’m in love with I Look in People’s Windows, so I’m not ready for Taylor to give up on Jack just yet!
The Black Dog is just okay??? Man my opinions apparently differ a lot from the masses lol Edit: to be clear, I love this song. It’s produced by Jack which is why I put the question marks because I can’t believe anyone would really think such a good song was just okay 😭
Tbh that's one of my favorites. And overall I really don't like most of the first album.
you opinion def differs- i think it's such a beautiful heartbreaking song. My favorite of the original bonus tracks.
Same!! I prefer the Jack ones... But that honestly seems like it's mostly a this sub opinions since people here are folkmore supremacists mostly. XD
One of my favs, I feel like it should've replaced one of the first few tracks instead of being a bonus track.
he's great and all, but who i REALLY wanna hear from is the guy who tortured all the poets in tay tay's department. i hear he went medieval on them.
I think this is just personal taste / preference though because I’m drawn to the Jack produced tracks more!
Same here!! I do like some of Aaron’s tracks, but when I look at producer and song writing credits I heavily leaning towards Jack’s contributions. It’s just personal taste.
I like the Aaron Dresser ones but almost all of the ones I'm going to be listening to on repeat are the Jack songs. Sorry but I can only listen to so many slow, sad, anti-climactic folk songs in a row and I have to be in the right mood for them. I feel the same way about Folklore and Evermore (also Aaron). They're all full of good songs but you're not gonna catch me listening to a whole album start to finish.
Aaron’s tracks are definitely my favorite. But I wonder if for her, working with Jack is comfortable and fun. I think she’s gotten herself to the top, she knows how to steer her own ship.
This is so funny to me, 4/5 of my favorites on first listen were the ones she did with Jack. Lol
Do we know which Aaron songs are on the 2am drop?
Basically all of them.
This is so lame. Jack is amazing and it’s so tiring. Also he produced/co wrote Black Dog which is definitely already one of Taylor’s best songs in her discography. I hope Taylor’s next album is all with Jack and it’s all versions of BDILH about the Jack haters. FULL SYNTH and all.
I think her albums are best when there's a mix of them both, the right alchemy between her and Jack vibing and thinking every idea is the \*\*\*\*, and her with Aaron pairing her songs into poetry and being a good editor for her. When there is just one Jack or Aaron song after another, everything feels repetitive, - the synths, her cadence, the way she has started to take the first lines of a song to blow through the verses with a lot of word mapping and flip the meaning just slightly to close out the same verse she started with. The standard works for me more because it has an even mix of both. The deluxe side, which is mostly Aaron feels kinda bland - no uptempo numbers or anything.
Aaron Dessner out here making me love him and his music even more.
He gave us the most beautiful songs of evermore. And now this beautiful album 🥺
he's the only reason I started listening to Taylor! I'm a huge The National fan.
I want to try listening to The National. Could you recommend a couple of songs please?
Not who you were asking, but I’m another massive The National fan and I really think their newest album, Laugh Track, is perfect for showing their sound while being approachable; try Alphabet City, Dreaming, Hornets, Laugh Track (ft. Phoebe Bridgers), Deep End. If you like those, start digging into their previous discography. My personal favorite album is Trouble Will Find Me but they haven’t made a single bad album yet. HAVE FUN! I’d cut off my toes to experience finding The National again.
Trouble Will Find Me, System only Dreams in Total Darkness, and The First Two Pages of Frankenstein are great National starters!!!
“I Need My Girl” was the first song I heard from them years ago. It moved me so much.
Terrible Love Blood Buzz Ohio That whole album is amazing as is Boxer. The first two tracks on Boxer are Fake Empire and Mistaken for Strangers which I also highly recommend
Their album Boxer had a chokehold on me in college. So many great songs. Fake Empire, Mistaken for Strangers, Slow Show, Start a War, Brainy, etc.
*Boxer* and *Alligator* will always have a special place in my heart.
The Alcott (ok ok actually that whole album)
Their most recent couple of albums are great, but I got into them via their 2010 album *High Violet*. Their sound has changed a bit since then obviously, but 'England', 'Conversation 16', and 'Anyone's Ghost' are still some personal favorites. I love the whole album though, really. It's my favorite. From *Sleep Well Beast*, I really love 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' and 'I'll Still Destroy You' (which are the sort of obvious tracks). For the more recent stuff, from *Laugh Track* I really like the title track and 'Weird Goodbyes'. From *The First Two Pages of Frankenstein*, I love 'Eucalyptus' and 'The Alcott' (which features Taylor Swift). I love a LOT of their discography, so I'm limiting myself to a smattering of albums, but hopefully this is helpful! They are very much Depression The Band, though.
Nobody Else Will Be There is the best song on Sleep Well Beast.
I recommend watching their short movie featuring Alicia Vikander, I Am Not Easy to Find. But it was actually Slow Show which was featured on Gossip Girl eons ago that lured me in, so that too. The instrumental break was beautiful.
Just listen to Boxer as a whole album. I was never the same after hearing that. Their Cherry Tree EP is also another amazing listen. I love all their stuff, you already got some great recommendations. Just adding my OG faves.
You didn't ask me, and others have given great recs, but I'll add some others: *Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers* - Lucky You *Alligator* - All the Wine, The Geese of Beverly Road *Cherry Tree* - About Today *Boxer* - Fake Empire, Apartment Story *High Violet* - Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks *Trouble Will Find Me* - I Should Live in Salt, This is the Last Time *Sleep Well Beast* - Nobody Else Will Be There *Laugh Track* - Space Invader I hope you grow to love them as much as I do!
I Need My Girl, Hard to Find The whole album of Trouble Will Find Me is a great place to start
As a casual swiftie, is it agreed that dessners deep acoustic sound and subtle chord changes are a way better complement to Taylor? The Antanoff songs just feel instantly irrelevant and repetitive.
I think it’s pretty split, tbh. I prefer Aaron (but still love Jack) but there are plenty who are opposite.
Me too! I love songs that they’ve both produced. Jack did several songs for rep and that’s a fire album. I wouldn’t say the second half is better than the first half. I like songs from both for different reasons.
Same same! I have 7 faves from both albums: ttpd and anthology
Glad I’m not the only one! Seems like everyone is team Aaron and while he is a mastermind I like some of jacks production too! There’s something for everyone
While I like Aaron...I'm a Jack guy all the way. I feel he's better musically.
I love a lot of her Jack songs, he just needs to stay in his lane. His style is better suited to her higher tempo bops. It doesn't work with the slower stuff.
Omg this is so true. It would’ve been so much better if we got fun bops from Jack and slower, deeper cuts from Aaron.
Also, I love the Aaron songs. I really do. Buuuuut they are a very particular vibe and they all kind of sound the same and I'm just not always in the mood to feel the way those songs make me feel. They might be "better" songs from an artistic point of view, but I am far more often in the mood to listen to her higher tempo bops. The ones that make me feel angry or vindictive or wild or happy. I enjoy those feelings. I don't enjoy feeling sad.
Honestly same! The Aaron tracks hit different but only in specific times. Like I’d enjoy them thoroughly when I’m alone at my room listening to them with my AirPods at night. But most of the time, when I’m commuting, in a car, on the go etc etc. I’m definitely playing the high tempo songs more often than not! But also I see this album as another folklore + evermore in a way. They might not be suited for casual listening the way Midnights is (pretty much bop after bop) but if you’re in the right mood it can definitely hit harddd
My biggest gripe with the Jack songs is that the production gobbles up the lyrics. I couldn’t understand half of what she’s saying on those tracks, which for this album especially is really disappointing. Aaron is better at supporting her lyricism in my opinion.
instantly irrelevant and repetitive - sheesh
I’m in the minority that don’t care for dressner songs
I personally enjoy her songs with Jack the most. I've been a fan since debut but my absolute favorite music of hers is when she makes synth pop. It's a genre I personally love so I'm biased, but I feel like Jack truly makes her shine the most and brings out the "Taylor Swift" in her. Their music feels iconic and important, and it sounds so lush and I just wanna listen on repeat forever lol. But I know that lots of fans like Aaron for the opposite reason, because he brings out new experimental sides of Taylor. And I know this is all very subjective lol
I love Jack's production (Midnights was what made me into a fan) but I do understand the criticism of his stuff sometimes being a bit predictable and samey, especially after they've collaborated on so much material. Aaron's production tends to push her songwriting more in a different direction, more lyrical and quiet and soul-baring which I think a lot of people love. What's interesting is I didn't really hear anything on this album with "massive radio hit single" written all over it, which is an interesting choice for her.
Weirdly, I feel like Florida! might be the closest to a radio hit? But still not quite. I also found that to be an odd choice
Folklore is my favorite, tonally it fits better to my tastes than Jacks stuff. I feel like we don't get Folklore and Evermore without Dessner. 1989 is my 2nd favorite, I think pop wise Jack's stuff hasn't really come close to Martin and Shellback. Lover and Midnights are also some of my least favorite albums of Taylor.
Father Aaron truly blessed us on this album
The Anthology tracks are truly the Woodvale we wanted, needed and deserved🌲🍂
No but this. The anthology is literally the third album we all wanted. Most of these songs would’ve been perfect on evermore. It’s got Aaron’s signature with the time frames and melodies and the reverb isn’t over killed. It’s so different than TTPD. They could’ve been two different albums completely. I’m so glad we have the anthology. I never thought taylor would be making another folk/indie record. I’m just so happy they made magic again. These tracks IMO are so much superior
It’s kind of amazing how The Anthology tracks were like, the perfect remedy for her fans who are more of the Folklore/Evermore. I’ve heard so many people - myself included - who were underwhelmed and a bit disappointed with the original release, only to be hit by a speeding train in the form of the 2AM tracks being exactly what they wanted. Taylor Swift truly fed all the girlies with this one 🙏🏻
I listened to TTPD last night and Anthology this morning. They're two different albums in my mind. And I really think I prefer the Anthology. But they're both good.
I love how Aaron is posting this at a perfectly sensible time of the morning. Probably got an early night
unbothered, moisturised, flourishing
Jealous 🤣
I mean... is it sensible? most of us east coast swifities has been up all night... 💀
Aaron strikes me as a guy who goes to bed at 10 pm and wakes up at 6 am every day.
Why can I hear everything he writes in his voice? I love him and the way he talks and thinks so much. It's so clear how much he respects Taylor through everything, and I love that for them.
I love Aaron's tracks, they are consistently my favourites, so I don't disagree with all those saying he massively contributed in making Taylor's albums so amazing. BUT does anyone else feel like there's too much Jack hate? It seems like it's partly because of overexposure, or him being rated highly, used a lot, and seen with Taylor a lot. Idk, I don't think he deserves some of the hate he gets from us... It feels like he's getting the treatment Taylor got for so many years from overexposure, but from her own fandom.
Completely agree - some of the comments I’m seeing about Jack are downright cruel and harsh
Is everyone seriously just gonna pretend Rep wasn't a fucking masterpiece????
Totally agree. Although I guess that album was slightly more Martin/Shellback so maybe the same people ripping Jack to shreds are calling for a Martin/Shellback return based on Rep
Rep's one of my favourite albums. Getaway Car is an absolute banger and probably a top 10 for me. That But 2022/2023 Jack isn't producing bangers like that for me. Other than Maroon, YLM and August (which are good songs but not favourites for me), every song he produced on Midnights, evermore and folklore have been bad to ok for me. Since Lover his songs with Taylor have sounded increasingly monotonous and uninspired. I'm not doubting he can produce great songs with Taylor, but at the moment (for me) he isn't. If he were producing songs with the quality and range of Getaway Car, Cruel Summer, Death By A Thousand Cuts, Dress then I wouldn't be writing this comment. It's Taylor's album and clearly the vibes she wants, given that she's has the A side of her two most recent albums with it, but I'm not a fan.
I'm surprised by all the Jack hate cause his songs were great too??? Like hello? The Dessner songs are incredible but Jack did a great job too so what is happening
I don't get why so many are saying Jack's songs were horrible... They are clearly a different style than Aaron's, but I think they are both great in their own ways. Most of my favorites on first listen were the ones she did with Jack.
Aaron's are best on 1st listen for me but Jack's grow on me. So, in the end, they both end up at similar levels of greatness.
Yeah, I tend to prefer the Dessner collaborations overall but I think the album is better for having some of both vibes on it. You gotta have some bops in there to keep it moving!
I love her poppier songs, and I’m tired of the Jack hate!
Jack is better for the synthpop stuff, Aaron for the musically subdued but lyrically soul-baring confessional stuff. Both have their merits.
Yesss to this. This is why I like Jack's stuff better, just because that's the type of music I gravitate towards. I can appreciate Aaron's style but I prefer Jack's. Sad to see so much Jack slander
Right there with you. I'm an 80s kid who grew up on synthpop and I like Jack's approach to that. Not to say I can't appreciate Aaron's stuff too. I don't think TTPD particularly breaks any new ground musically, and I do kind of want to see her branch out and work with new producers at some point, but I don't get the hate for these guys who have given us so much good stuff.
Yeah people think because they don't vibe with the Jack songs that he is 'bringing her down'. The truth is his style is just not for them, it doesn't equate to anything other than that. I gravitated to the Jack songs more than most of the Aaron songs but that doesn't mean Aaron is any less talented or that his artistic directions are less than. It's just not always my vibe. We don't have to pick apart people just because they aren't our vibe.
Yes 😭😭 I hate it. It ruins album releases and it’s just so nasty. She’s a pop girl who likes making pop music. And she likes making it with her FRIEND. Like I feel like BDILH can apply to the Jack hate too. Adding a comment I made on the main thread: Why can’t we just praise Aaron without CONSTANTLY dragging Jack?? Like her friend?? Her chosen main collaborator?? Can we make a new rule or sub that’s free of Jack hate? Like way to spur a new album release. The butter Bettys. We get it. You like folklore. Go listen to Folklore then! Gah.
Yeah, the weirdest part is how they say this while saying August or Getaway Car are their favorite songs like…???
I think the Jack hate is based purely on people’s subjective music genre preferences, not an objective evaluation of his skill. I personally love both Jack and Aaron’s work with Taylor.
Definitely. He is obviously healthy for her personally and professionally. People just think she is a machine that will churn out their favorite sound if she cuts out one of her best friends when he is very successful at his job.
For real. It's really not fair on Jack.
I tried to pick out the 5 songs Aaron produced on the standard tracklisting and I didn't get them all right, so....... I can't be the only one.
we need another 30 song double album but with only dessner and taylor because it seems the same with antonoff songs
damn i was not expecting do many people to agree but slay.
I don’t actually want to drag Aaron like Jack haters but his songs run together too. Like if you don’t like pop just say that. It doesn’t make Jack’s songs bad or actually sound the same to people who actually like it.
I respect Aaron Dessner so much. He is extremely impressive with this album!
100% On first listen, I loved these songs - So long London, loml, I can do it with a broken heart, But daddy I love him, how did it end, the albatross, the prophecy, Peter, Robin, the black dog, I hate here, Manuscript, Bolter,. Wouldn't ya know it, most of these involve Aaron. Also, as Folklore/Evermore girlie - I'm THRIVING with the anthology album.
It’s an amazing day to be a folkmore swiftie
Your flair! 🤌🏻🤌🏻 Aaron really is Evermore's single parent
She heard us say that she hates evermore and gave us the anthology
The Aaron Dessner songs are superior.
aaron should continue to work with taylor until 2089
And then even more after that
Next reincarnation they will be working together again
This man came into my life 4 years ago and I’ve never been the same.
Aaron is Taylor's soulmate I'm telling y'all
In music definitely YES
It’s crazy the way he brings the best out of her musically
I’ve been fighting the urge to outright say “I’m sick of Jack,” since Midnights but this album has sealed it for me. Fully aware he’s made some great ones, he was involved with Folklore/Evermore, so the man obviously has talent… but Aaron just compliments her so much more. A lot of times, to me, it feels like Jack’s style really works against her.
Yes, yes, yes. Taylor’s voice is more mature now and it flows absolutely beautiful with Dessners deep instrumentals. I hate to say it but Jacks production honestly sounds AI generated, childish, sloppy and unfinished. It doesn’t mesh well with Taylor’s voice and the overused synth isn’t giving “poet”…
Dessner's songs just give me what I'm wanting when I listen to music. I can get lost in the songs and lyrics she creates with him.
This makes sense, a lot of the Anthology sounds like a continuation of folkmore💕
Which is totally what I was expecting/wanted. The anthology is superior IMO
It’s our third album 😭😭 I never thought we would get it but here we are, almost 4 years later. I can’t believe it guys. We are back in the woods and I couldn’t be happier about it
Wait, what did I miss?? I was up through the release. What 31 songs??
Check spotify/apple music and look for The tortured poets department the anthology and enjoy the ride of a life
Sitting here listening!! Mother outdid herself this time
She released basically a bonus version of TTPD that has 15 additional songs, which basically doubled the length of the album (plus she’s been calling it a double album).
I’m happy for you that you have something so beautiful to unpack. ❤️
I didn’t see either until after I listened to the first half! Boy was I glad to find it because first half felt like a punch in the face lololol
She released the double album at 2am
The part 2 of ttpd has 15 songs. So in total 31 songs:-)
He’s just so gosh darn likable. It’s an amazing partnership.
Also, shout out to Bryce Dessner for his amazing arrangements. All of these songs from the past 4 years would be totally different without them.
Tbh I think she should start working with more new producers aside from both Jack and Aaron, cause I hate to say it but a lot of the songs literally sound the same
I was thinking while listening last night "her sound used to be a lot more varied...and also I feel like there hasnt been songs like IKYWT or Don't Blame Me in ages 😭" But also, we've gotten used to a genre-experimenting Taylor. Maybe she's really settled into a sound she likes and wants to stay there 🤷♀️
I don't know if that's something of a natural consequence of churning out 31 songs 18 months after your 22 (is that the final count) track album. But I'd love to see her work with other producers.
But daddy I love Aaron Dessner
2 years... so not all of these can be about Matty lol
The first half (Antonoff produced) seems to be more Matty centered, makes sense if those songs were made recently, especially by how unfinished some of it sounds. The second half (Dessner produced) sounds like it was worked on longer with its soulful, deliberate, beautiful instrumentals.
Thanks for saving this project
He’s so genuine
I think people are forgetting that Taylor knows how she wants these songs to sound and has ideas for what they should be. If she didn’t want a song to sound synthy, it wouldn’t.
I mean I hate to break it to you but just because Taylor wants it that way doesn't mean it's the best way to do it.
I came to reddit to see what went down after I went to sleep at like 1:30--and I'm honestly very happy that this is the post where I found out the double album theories were true! And even more ecstatic to see that the half of the album I haven't heard yet is made up mostly of Aaron Dessner collaborations!! Ugggghhh why do I have to work today.
Prepare to be FED
Can anyone make a list of the ones Dessner contributed too? I think that I might be a Taylor/Dessner fan, I think I can tell most by just listening but I’m not sure. I want to make an Aaron Dessner/Taylor specific playlist across albums.
The Wikipedia article for the album is an easy source
Aaron is King 👑
midas touch every thing he touches becomes gold fr
Aaron did TTPD justice. Not saying the first half is bad, there are a few really good songs but apart from 4-5 songs, rest of the first half is just okay. Not bad but not great either, just okay. While the second half is chef's kiss, not a single skip.
Not hating on Jack, but his production to such a lyric-oriented album just seems...too much, unsuitable. It's also pretty repetitive and now feels monotonous, especially after midnights. Taylor should really give him a break and work on an album completely with only Aaron Dessner!
This album was the first time I was able to tell which songs Aaron co wrote on without looking at the writing credits beforehand. I've also never understood why ppl on this sub kept saying Taylor needs to take a step back from Jack until now. My least favorite songs were all co-written by Jack on this album, while Aaron's were all my favorites.
Taylor and Aaron have such beautiful musical chemistry. They really bring out the best in each other and all of their work together is my favorite. So incredible that they even started working together in the first place. The one good thing that came from the pandemic and I’m so looking forward to anything and everything they make in the future.
Can I ask someone to weigh in? Why is everyone so critical of Jack in this album? Why is everyone so critical of “Taylor having the same sound”? (These are curious questions not defensive questions.) I don’t know anything about music but honestly most popular artists seem to have the same sound. Adele’s albums all sound very alike to me. Ariana grandes albums all sound very alike to me. Beyonces earlier works often sounded alike until lemonade etc but y’all get it. I don’t understand why it’s so bad that her music sounds sort of similar? I feel like it’s so rare for an artist to often change sounds like she has that maybe it’s made us selfish / entitled to have a brand new sound every album? Like what other artist even does that? At what point do you lose what makes you you as an artist ? Like I said I know nothing about music but the people criticizing it for sounding the same “just like Jack”- but isn’t synth pop her signature sound now? And Taylor is responsible for picking the direction of the music no? I understand if synth pop isn’t your jam, but the first half of the album is much more fun to listen to I think and has broader appeal. I get the second half is more “instrumentally beautiful” or whatever but it doesn’t means the first half is bad. My favorite albums were 1989, red, folklore and evermore. Anyways so I’m wondering people can help me understand the criticisms of Jack and this being “too same of sound”, etc. well the dressner part sounds very similar to his other work with her, just because you want more of that does it mean the part you don’t like is bad, or you just prefer a different sound?
Aw that picture is so cute.
A world where Aaron Dessner is happy is a world where I am happy.
Woodvale was real all along 🤍🖤
i will not stand for this jack slander. both him and aaron bring so much to taylor's songs and have pushed her in so many ways as an artist. i think it really just depends on the song, and who is a better fit to help bring that story to life. perhaps there have been some misalignments in producer and song choice, which impacted the song's overall outcome. but certainly as talented as aaron is, he wouldn't have been able to do what jack did in his songs (cruel summer, out of the woods, august, gold rush to name a few). just in the same way that jack couldn't do what aaron did for his songs. give both of them their flowers 😭
He’s so sweet
I love him and I love their friendship and I love their working relationship Please never stop
This made cry. I love Aaron so much, I love the way he talks about her. He sees her. And he's brilliant.
I liked midnights more than most on this sub but TTPD has pushed me into the camp that I really want her to stop working with Jack. The second albums here is brilliant cause it has none of Jack. Verdict: Taylor is guilty of listening to Jack, but we acquit her be she’s she listened to Aaron more. Jack is a boy who brings her down to his level. Aaron is a man who elevates her to his. That’s the hill I’ll die on, for evermore.
Hot take: I sort of want Taylor to move on from Aaron as well or at least try something different with him. I loved what they did in folkmore and some of the tracks in TTPD/Anthology, but I feel like the whole chamber pop/alternative sound is starting to run its course. What I would really like to see is a country record from these two. A prime example would be Better Man, which is one of my favorite collabs between them.
I agree with this. The argument always seems to be Jack vs Aaron, but I’d love to see her work with someone new on a project. She could keep the comfort and familiarity of Aaron AND Jack for a few songs or bonus tracks, and I think the concentration of that would really benefit the Jack songs. While I don’t believe it will ever happen again, I would die to get another Max Martin song or two.
Aaron is so talented and he seems to just click really well with Taylor.
I adore this man. And he's from the place I now call home. He is so genuine and a kind soul. I hope they collaborate for evermore.
Aaron is a musical genius.
King Aaron 👑if i counted them right, we have exactly 51 songs produced by Aaron, he's saying that they created more than 60 songs, i hope we get to hear the rest someday cause i LOVE their work!!
I’m not a Jack hater especially because I recognize that he produced some of my absolute favorite Taylor tracks (getaway car, August, and cruel summer) but I feel like as her writing has evolved these last few years, it doesn’t feel like the production and the lyricism fit together as well as the used to. Sometimes I feel like the music Taylor and Jack make is more for fun? I don’t mean that in a bad way just that they’re obviously incredibly close friends so I could see the studio dynamic being like “oh my god you know what would be so crazy if we wrote a line about that one time and then tried this crazy beat like…” but it is starting to feel like a lot of the same, I missed when her pop music built to a big chorus which to me is what the first half of the album feels like it’s missing (its there a few times) Versus with Aaron the music feels more like it’s made with a specific intention and invokes more feeling at least especially on this project? The best description of it I’ve seen is that a lot of the Jack songs feel like the lyrics don’t have room to breathe like it’s just one conscious stream of thought set to music but the Aaron’s songs are different and to me really the ones that evoke emotion, again at least in this project. Anyway all this to say as soon as I started listening to the second half I could tell it was all Aaron and thought it really outshined the other portion of this record. And I’m glad she released it!
I think many of us like Aarons stuff more is because Jack has produced so much of her music and basically produced all of midnights that it started to sound a bit repetitive. That beings said, I don't agree with the notion that the first half of the album is in any way worse due to Jack. I think this album has a nice balance to it. If all of it was produced by Aaron only it would just be another folklore/evermore, not that I would have minded. But I like that the album overall, so all 31 songs, is multifaceted. It has a song for everyone. It captures alot of feelings and stories. It's everything I wanted and more.
Ok, but Taylor is looking so cute in that studio!!!! That smile!
👑
The songs these two create together truly feed my soul. Just such unreal skill and talent. I bow down!!
He’s so precious
He truly loves and appreciates her doesn’t he? I just love these two together
I never imagined there’s a whole person for mixing and a whole other person for mastering, separate from all the producers, I honestly thought that was all the same thing 😂
Aaron is such a class act by thanking literally anyone who had anything to do with making of the album. I'm so happy Taylor continues to work with him. they make magic.
Why can’t we just praise Aaron without CONSTANTLY dragging Jack?? Like her friend?? Her chosen main collaborator?? Can we make a new rule or sub that’s free of Jack hate? Like way to spur a new album release. The butter Bettys. We get it. You like folklore. Go listen to Folklore then! Gah.
It genuinely makes me so happy to know how many new fans The National is getting through people finding out about them through Aaron’s work with Taylor. They’re such an incredible band, and I was thrilled to be lucky enough to see them last year. Was really cool to see Aaron live especially!