If you haven’t been keeping track of the American icon that is Taylor Swift, you might want to reconsider your priorities. Swift has revolutionized her sound once again, this time towards her country roots with an alternative twang. From her past two albums folklore and evermore, Swift has been picking songs and creating little themed EPs. Her most recent selection of songs is called “the ‘ladies lunching’ chapter,” and it is a tiny slice of perfection. 

Each song is based around one specific lady, and the lyrics in each piece are gorgeously rich in storytelling and imagery. The first song is betty, a high school potentially one-sided romance that centers around the narrator longing for the titular girl. The lyrics evoke the narrator’s innocent romantic feelings with a soft musical backdrop that makes the listener feel like they’re standing in the corner of the gym at senior prom, watching the person of their dreams dance with someone else. 

Swift then goes through the ladies dorothea, marjorie, and august. dorothea is a small town piece, where Dorothea longs for something more than what she knows. Swift’s voice starts to take on new haunting tones, becoming raw and throaty with emotion as she sings. marjorie has a beautiful opening line: “Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind.” This song is heartbreaking, revealing very quickly that Marjorie is no longer with the narrator or in this world at all. Swift embodies the feeling of loss as she sings for Marjorie, reliving their moments together. august is a bit of a change from the country twinge to the rest of the EP, feeling more alternative in spirit. The song is about a summer fling that lets the listener experience the world through Swift’s eyes as she watches someone’s back as they walk away under the heart of the sun. The song feels very free and lighthearted in a young, hopeless romantic sense. 

The EP takes a turn at the song no body, no crime (feat. HAIM). This track is probably my personal favorite. It feels like a bit of a twist on Carrie Underwood’s classic Before He Cheats. The song starts with the sound of sirens as someone says “He did it.” Swift sings the story of the narrator’s friend Este dealing with finding out her husband is cheating on her. The song has a dark country feel and the ominous tone seems to grow as the song progresses. THe narrator presumes that Este’s husband kills her, and insists with intensity that she will figure out the truth. The twist at the end of the song packs an amazing punch, and I recommend you listen to figure out the whole story. 

The last song is called right where you left me. Swift feels stuck in the past as the world keeps turning around her. Swift’s voice returns to the lighter, sad notes that follow the first four ladies, fully rounding out the EP. When she introduced the EP on Twitter, she said, “In my mind all of the evermore and folklore album ladies are a part of the same universe, so I put them in a playlist together.” This is a perfect playlist for a late night drive where all you want to do is reminisce on the past, thinking of what could have been. I highly recommend taking the time to listen to the “ladies lunching” chapter.