On Thursday December 10th, country-pop icon and decade of the year Taylor Swift shocked her fans once again with the announcement of evermore, marking her ninth studio album. This comes just roughly five months after her eighth album folklore, which released July 24th of 2020 and was also a surprise.

Swift relayed on her Instagram account that evermore is the sister album to folklore and that, in honor of her birthday on the thirteenth and the holiday season, she wanted to do this for her fans. While folklore was meant to represent spring and summer, evermore is fall and winter, and continues several stories introduced through folklore, emphasizing the strong connection between them and the feelings Swift ingrained into the songs.

Notable tracks on evermore include “willow,” “gold rush,” and the conspiracy inducing “no body, no crime,” but arguably the track to make the most noise so far is “champagne problems.” Evermore’s second track threatens to dethrone Red’s “All Too Well,” which is widely considered Swift’s most profound bridge to date and certainly belongs among the high society of fan favorites “Getaway Car,” “Cruel Summer,” and “cardigan.”

Could evermore be Swift’s best album to date? Many of her fans would agree, citing her ever-emotional lyrics, evolved metaphors, and matured voice as evidence for this case. However, junior Jenna Weiss believes that although it is “definitely one of her best,” folklore retains her top spot “because literally there is not one bad song on that album.” Fans of Swift’s early country roots or grungy Reputation phase may agree that evermore does not quite top the list, but it is clear that in its overall cohesiveness, in depth meanings, and added shock value, evermore will mark yet another influential moment in the music industry courtesy of Swift.