Taylor Swift - Evermore (Japan Edition) (2021)

There's more where folklore came from. After the surprise release of her eighth studio album in July, Taylor Swift again announced a new record on short notice – in this case, evermore, on the eve of its Dec. 11 midnight release.

On social media, Swift referred to the album as folklore's sister record. "To put it plainly, we just couldn't stop writing songs," she wrote. And though fans have long referred to each of the star's album cycles as eras, Swift says not so fast this time around.

"There was something different with folklore," she explained. "In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning."

On evermore, Swift reunites with The National's Aaron Dessner, Jack Antonoff, Justin Vernon and "WB," – aka William Bowery, aka Joe Alwyn, as confirmed in her recent Disney+ concert film, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions. New collaborators enter the fray as well, with a full-fledged feature from The National ("coney island"), backing vocals from Mumford & Sons' Marcus Mumford ("cowboy like me") and a track featuring the sisters HAIM ("no body, no crime").