Evermore.
After borrowing Aaron Dessner from The National for
Folklore, Swift corrals the full band for “Coney Island,” a duet with singer Matt Berninger in which the two musical approaches meet in the middle. Whereas “Exile,” the
Folklore duet with Bon Iver, was founded upon escalated drama, “Coney Island” rests on the gentle recollections of a pair that has shared a world, with Berninger’s soothing rumble returning every volley from Swift.
16. Dorothea
As she did on
Folklore songs like “The Last Great American Dynasty” and “Betty,” Swift creates emotional stakes on “Dorothea” by zooming in on passed-down narratives and singing from new perspectives. The backstories of the characters in “Dorothea” are less crucial than the drama that Swift constructs: a separation, a skipped prom and other well-worn memories, swinging alongside a guitar and tambourine.