Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions
Year: 2020
Director: Taylor Swift
Starring: Taylor Swift
Runtime: 105 mins
BBFC: N/A
Published: 18/04/24
Director: Taylor Swift
Starring: Taylor Swift
Runtime: 105 mins
BBFC: N/A
Published: 18/04/24
The COVID-19 lockdowns were a difficult time to be an artist. At a time when the world collectively relied on the arts more than ever to get them through such difficult times, artists were being told by governments the world over that they were not valued or needed.
For established artists it presented a new challenge, how to create their craft without the studio space to do so. Many took the time to reflect and plan their next work that they would begin in the eventual aftermath of the pandemic, but others invested in transforming their homes to suit their needs.
Having had her tour ‘Lover Fest’ cancelled, Taylor Swift found herself doing the latter as she spent the lockdown months producing not one, but two albums. Her eighth and ninth studio albums, Folklore and Evermore were critically lauded as some of Swift’s best work as she took her songwriting and style in an entirely new direction. But the creation of these albums was far from ordinary with her unable to work closely with her musical collaborators.
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions showcases the first time that Swift was able to perform said album with her co-writers and collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Directed by Swift, The Long Pond Studio Sessions presents itself in a documentary style as the trio discuss the creative process behind each song on the album, as well as perform a stripped back version of each song at Dessner’s isolated recording studio in the woods of Hudson Valley.
Whilst I had been a fan of Swift’s since the release of her fifth studio album, 1989, I think it was the release of Folklore and Evermore where I really became a ‘Swiftie’. I adore both of these albums, and many of the songs from the both of them are among my favourites of her entire discography. I did listen to The Long Pond Studio album a couple of years ago and it didn’t resonate with me the same way that the original Folklore album did, and I never felt the desire to watch the documentary. But with my recent dive into Swift’s concert filmography, I felt it was about time I checked it out and it was hard not to be disappointed.
For established artists it presented a new challenge, how to create their craft without the studio space to do so. Many took the time to reflect and plan their next work that they would begin in the eventual aftermath of the pandemic, but others invested in transforming their homes to suit their needs.
Having had her tour ‘Lover Fest’ cancelled, Taylor Swift found herself doing the latter as she spent the lockdown months producing not one, but two albums. Her eighth and ninth studio albums, Folklore and Evermore were critically lauded as some of Swift’s best work as she took her songwriting and style in an entirely new direction. But the creation of these albums was far from ordinary with her unable to work closely with her musical collaborators.
Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions showcases the first time that Swift was able to perform said album with her co-writers and collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Directed by Swift, The Long Pond Studio Sessions presents itself in a documentary style as the trio discuss the creative process behind each song on the album, as well as perform a stripped back version of each song at Dessner’s isolated recording studio in the woods of Hudson Valley.
Whilst I had been a fan of Swift’s since the release of her fifth studio album, 1989, I think it was the release of Folklore and Evermore where I really became a ‘Swiftie’. I adore both of these albums, and many of the songs from the both of them are among my favourites of her entire discography. I did listen to The Long Pond Studio album a couple of years ago and it didn’t resonate with me the same way that the original Folklore album did, and I never felt the desire to watch the documentary. But with my recent dive into Swift’s concert filmography, I felt it was about time I checked it out and it was hard not to be disappointed.
I’m sure this will sound like sacrilege to any hardcore Swiftie, but The Long Pond Studio Sessions is the worst way to engage with one of Swift’s best albums for multiple reasons. Firstly, and perhaps the most important, is that much like my feelings of when I first listened to the Long Pond Studio album, these stripped back renditions of the songs lose something magical from the original album. Folklore is an album about fairy tales, captivating love stories, heartbreaking loss, and dying your neighbours dog green; in the original versions the songs are given this ethereal quality to them in the mixing process, but that’s all gone in the Long Pond Studio version. It really is Swift on vocals and guitar, Antonoff on guitar or drums, and Dessner on bass or piano (with Bon Iver showing up for vocals on Exile). Whilst these versions definitely have other good qualities about them, such as the raw sound of each instrument, almost every single song I feel is missing some crucial element of what makes it so powerful from the original album.
So that point is down to personal preference, I know lots of people that prefer the Long Pond Studio album because they prefer that stripped back sound. But I feel like these next two points are slightly more objective. One to do with Swift’s vocals, and the other with the actual construction of the film.
Swift sits down for her performance of the album, and not like perched on a stool, but quite literally folded up on a couch. I’m no musician, but I have enough vocal training from my years as a performer to know that sitting down makes it so much harder to hit certain notes, particularly low ones, and that’s so evident here in The Long Pond Studio Sessions.
There are countless times where Swift runs out of breath before the end of the words, or the note she needs to hit is so low that she can’t reach it when sat down, and it’s really frustrating to watch. I, as well as anyone who has listened to the Folklore album, know that she can hit those notes, especially if you’ve seen The Eras Tour where she does them on stage whilst dancing and moving around. So personally, I find it poor form to be sat on a couch struggling to hit the notes or even maintain breath long enough to get to the end of the words.
So that point is down to personal preference, I know lots of people that prefer the Long Pond Studio album because they prefer that stripped back sound. But I feel like these next two points are slightly more objective. One to do with Swift’s vocals, and the other with the actual construction of the film.
Swift sits down for her performance of the album, and not like perched on a stool, but quite literally folded up on a couch. I’m no musician, but I have enough vocal training from my years as a performer to know that sitting down makes it so much harder to hit certain notes, particularly low ones, and that’s so evident here in The Long Pond Studio Sessions.
There are countless times where Swift runs out of breath before the end of the words, or the note she needs to hit is so low that she can’t reach it when sat down, and it’s really frustrating to watch. I, as well as anyone who has listened to the Folklore album, know that she can hit those notes, especially if you’ve seen The Eras Tour where she does them on stage whilst dancing and moving around. So personally, I find it poor form to be sat on a couch struggling to hit the notes or even maintain breath long enough to get to the end of the words.
The film is also incredibly boring to watch from a visual perspective. The studio is equipped with a handful of cameras that are just moving backwards and forwards on tracks, likely having been pre-programmed in rather than actually being controlled in the moment because so many of the same tracking shots are used over and over again. It’s a small space, and not much happening beyond the playing of instruments, so I get it, no grand theatrics to track, but it’s just so stale and robotic.
The interview sequences are filmed much better, usually shot outside of the studio around the fire pit or on the bank next to the lake. But the content of those conversations feels very self-indulgent in the same way that the cutaways during the 1989 World Tour did. They almost all consist of Swift talking about how the song challenged her (usually in a very mundane or nondescript way), or about a particular lyric in the song that she’d written years ago and was waiting for the right opportunity to use; meanwhile Antonoff and Dessner just act like yes men and silently nod at her or repeat what she just said using different words to affirm that she’s absolutely right. I had hoped these sequences would hold actual insight into the creative process, and for one or two songs such as Epiphany we were given that, but for the majority of the time it feels like Swift stroking her creative ego with her two well trained lap dogs.
I love Folklore to bits, it’s probably in my top three Taylor Swift albums and songs like Exile, Seven, Invisible String, The Lakes, and The Last Great American Dynasty are among my favourite songs of hers. But The Long Pond Studio Session is without a doubt the worst way to watch/listen to the album. It’s the worst versions of these amazing songs, it’s stale to watch as its shot with very little creativity, and the interview sequences rarely provide insight into the creative process but rather act as an opportunity for Swift to be reassured by Antonoff and Dessner that she’s a good songwriter and a nice person.
I love Taylor Swift and her music, but this is a true low point for her concert filmography.
The interview sequences are filmed much better, usually shot outside of the studio around the fire pit or on the bank next to the lake. But the content of those conversations feels very self-indulgent in the same way that the cutaways during the 1989 World Tour did. They almost all consist of Swift talking about how the song challenged her (usually in a very mundane or nondescript way), or about a particular lyric in the song that she’d written years ago and was waiting for the right opportunity to use; meanwhile Antonoff and Dessner just act like yes men and silently nod at her or repeat what she just said using different words to affirm that she’s absolutely right. I had hoped these sequences would hold actual insight into the creative process, and for one or two songs such as Epiphany we were given that, but for the majority of the time it feels like Swift stroking her creative ego with her two well trained lap dogs.
I love Folklore to bits, it’s probably in my top three Taylor Swift albums and songs like Exile, Seven, Invisible String, The Lakes, and The Last Great American Dynasty are among my favourite songs of hers. But The Long Pond Studio Session is without a doubt the worst way to watch/listen to the album. It’s the worst versions of these amazing songs, it’s stale to watch as its shot with very little creativity, and the interview sequences rarely provide insight into the creative process but rather act as an opportunity for Swift to be reassured by Antonoff and Dessner that she’s a good songwriter and a nice person.
I love Taylor Swift and her music, but this is a true low point for her concert filmography.