Well, it’s been a big night in Taylor Swift country aka folkloreland, as the release of her ninth album, Evermore has included more collaborations with the brilliant Aaron Dessner, and plenty of other members of The National, too. Aaron and Matt Berninger, the primary vocalist for the group, both shared posts today explaining what it’s like to work with Taylor.
“Singing a song with Taylor Swift is like dancing with Gene Kelly,” Berninger wrote. “She made me look good and didn’t drop me once. “coney island” is an incredibly beautiful song she and Aaron Dessner wrote together. It really made me miss Brooklyn. Such a blast being a part of evermore. Thank you so much @taylorswift, @aarondessner, @heyjonlow and @thebestofspatrickobrien.”
For his part, Aaron had a lot more to say because he’s now worked very closely with Taylor on not one but two records. He praises Taylor’s “boundless talent” as a singer, songwriter and storyteller:
“It’s only been 5 months since folklore was released,” he began. “But truth be told @taylorswift and I never actually stopped exchanging ideas and somehow we’ve finished a sister record called evermore that I love just as much. These songs are wilder and freeer, sometimes in strange time signatures and darker hues, but very much a continuation of what we started with folklore. I can’t begin to express my gratitude and respect for Taylor — I never cease to wonder at her seemingly boundless talent as a singer and a songwriter and storyteller. It’s been the experience of a lifetime to work so fast and furiously with her.
As with folklore, @jackantonoff, @blobtower and William Bowery all contributed brilliant ideas and songwriting — the same alchemy and teamwork continued. This time my brother @brycedessner contributed much more as well — helping write and produce “Coney Island” and orchestrating the entire record. I’ve never done anything creatively of any value without Bryce helping to elevate it, as he does here again. As important, @heyjonlow has been my brother in all of this work too — I could never have conceived of this without him by my side every step of the way. And Justin @blobtower, who has taught me so much, is here again too, lending his insane talents. If that wasn’t enough, my bandmates in @thenational, Matt, Bryan and Scott along with Bryce, are here too. We learned to write songs and make records together. Hearing Matt sing with Taylor and the entire band perform on “Coney Island” — things have come full circle.
And there are so many other friends who have made very significant contributions to this record (more later in them later).”
Ok guys, so why not just do one more eh? Lockdown trilogy? I’ll be here, safely quarantining at home, saving up to buy that third vinyl.