"Carolina": A Haunting New Direction

Taylor Swift’s new single “Carolina” is a powerful step forward for the artist. The single was written solely by Swift and produced by herself and collaborator Aaron Desser. While there is nothing derivative about the song, it feels like a natural progression of her ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’ eras. Swift has stated that the song was originally written while she was working on her ‘folklore’ album in 2020.

The song will be featured in the end credits of the new film “Where the Crawdads Sing” starring “Normal People” actress Daisy Edgar-Jones. The song was teased earlier this year by being featured in the film’s trailer. “She read this book and loved it so much, and then she heard we were making a movie” said producer Reese Witherspoon, “she was making her ‘folklore’ album and then she wrote a song with that whole ‘folklore’ team, which was so haunting and magical and beautiful”.

Upon first listen, I could definitely hear this song being on one of Swift’s more recent albums. It has the haunting ‘no body, no crime’ attitude of ‘evermore’ mixed with the whimsical sounds of ‘folklore’. However, the song has a little more of a twang to it fitting the film’s swampy vibes. I am reminded of Emmylou Harris’ 1980 recording of the American folk/gospel song, “Wayfaring Stranger”.

After re-recording and re-releasing two of her albums last year, (‘Fearless’ and ‘Red’), it’s clear that Swift can re-insert herself into her older narratives while still evolving. She has revisited unreleased songs (which she calls “from the vault” tracks) and given them updated sounds. Swift recorded the new tune using only instruments from before 1953 to give it a more authentic feel for the period motion picture.

In my opinion, it’s a 10/10.