The album topped the charts in Australasia and various European countries, and it was certified platinum or higher in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

Folklore received widespread critical acclaim for its emotional weight and intricate lyricism; some journalists commented that its introspective tone was timely for the pandemic and regarded its sound as a bold reinvention of Swift's artistry.

Music fans and critics across genres unveiled hot takes, quoted lyrics like Myspace teens writing on the back of textbooks or crafting the perfect AIM away message, and debated Folklore's place in the unimpeachable Taylor Swift canon.

[21] Dessner "thought it would take a while for song ideas to come" and "had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely", but was surprised that "a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written song—the momentum never really stopped.

[22] Swift and Dessner also wrote "The Last Great American Dynasty", "Mad Woman", and "Epiphany", the first of which has an array of electric guitars inspired by Radiohead's 2007 surprise album In Rainbows.

[42] NME's Hannah Mylrea wrote the album "dives headfirst into the world of folk, alternative rock and indie",[41] while the same magazine's Gary Ryan classified it as indietronica and chamber pop.

[53] It is built around soft,[39] sparse[46] and sonorous pianos,[53] moody,[46] picked[53] and burbling guitars,[39] glitchy and fractured electronic elements,[39] subliminal,[44] throbbing percussions,[56] mellow programmed drums, Mellotron,[45] sweeping orchestrations[46] with ethereal strings[40] and meditative horns.

[60] Folklore consists of songs exploring points of view that diverge from Swift's life, including third-person narratives[57] written from perspectives of characters that interweave across the tracks.

[60] Compared to much of her older discography, Folklore reflected Swift's deepening self-awareness,[39] introspection,[47] and vivid storytelling[41] that showed a higher degree of fictionalization and fewer self-references,[45] culminating in an outward-looking approach.

[67] Many songs on the album exude a cinematic quality in their lyrics,[68] and reference objects and phenomena in nature, such as a solar eclipse, Saturn, auroras, purple-pink skies, salt air, weeds, and Wisteria.

[68] "The Last Great American Dynasty" is an alternative indie pop tune with classical instruments like slide guitar, viola, violins, drums and glitchy production elements.

[75][48] "Exile" is a gospel-influenced,[58] indie folk[76] duet with Bon Iver, fusing Swift's soft vocals with Vernon's growling baritone,[77] serving as an unspoken, argumentative conversation between two former lovers.

[40] Sung from the perspective of a deceased lover's ghost, "My Tears Ricochet" is an icy arena-goth song[81] that reflects on the tensions following the end of a marital relationship,[10] using funereal imagery—a metaphor for Scott Borchetta and his sale of the masters of Swift's older catalogue.

[83][68] In "Seven", Swift sings in an innocent tone,[83][39] reminiscing about an abused friend from her childhood in Pennsylvania,[84] whom she cannot fully remember but still has fond memories of, over a resonant arrangement consisting of flurrying strings and piano.

[38][82] It depicts the devastation of the pandemic, paying homage to healthcare workers, with whom she empathizes, comparing them to traumatized military soldiers,[56] such as her veteran grandfather, Dean, who fought at the Battle of Guadalcanal (1942).

[68] Imagining a red rose growing out of tundra "with no one around to tweet it", Swift fantasizes about a social-media-free utopia,[45] referencing William Wordsworth, an English poet known for his Romantic writings.

[10] She is seen standing alone in a misty forest covered by morning fog,[91] wearing a long, double-breasted plaid coat over a white prairie dress,[92] gazing at the height of the trees.

[93] On the backside cover, she stands turned away from the camera, wearing a slouchy flannel-lined denim jacket slumped around her arms, and a white lace frock, with two loose braided buns low over her nape, similar to American Girl doll Kirsten Larson.

[98] Reflecting its lyrical motifs of escapism,[99] Folklore sees Swift embracing a rustic,[52] nature-focused,[90] cottagecore[92][100] aesthetic for the project, moving away from the "technicolor carnival" of its predecessor, Lover.

On her website, Swift sold replicas of the "folklore cardigan" she wore in the video—a cream colored cable knit, with silver embroidered stars on the sleeves' chunky elbows, and navy blue piping and buttons.

[104] Noting that her album eras have been defined by their own color scheme, fashion and cultural motifs, Teen Vogue described Folklore as simple, neutral-toned wear, with the cardigan helping in understanding the sentimental role clothing plays.

[107] Comparing it with her past albums, The Guardian characterized 1989 as sleek and suave, Reputation as gothic and dangerous, and Lover as jovial and pastel-hued, whereas Folklore is the monochrome tale of a songwriter returning to folksy roots.

It marked the first time Swift abandoned her traditional album rollout, opting to release suddenly due to intuition; she stated, "If you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world."

It was directed and produced by Swift, seeing her perform all the tracks of Folklore in an intimate setting at Long Pond Studio, and sharing the stories behind the songs, with Antonoff and Dessner.

[131][132] Folklore was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised its emotional weight and introspective songwriting,[137] calling it Swift's most subdued and sophisticated body of work yet.

[134] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone lauded Swift's songwriting abilities that brought out her "deepest wit, compassion, and empathy", making Folklore her most intimate album so far.

[6] Also noting the album's vivid storytelling filled with imagination and imagery, Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes considered Folklore a mature step in Swift's artistry while retaining her core as a celebrated songwriter.

[140] In a mixed review, The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica praised Swift's songwriting but felt the album is burdened by "desolate" and "overcomposed" indie rock.

Swift became the first woman in history to win Album of the Year thrice,[note 2] and the fourth artist overall, tied with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.

[257] The success of Folklore prompted artists such as Hawke,[258] Gracie Abrams,[259] Ed Sheeran,[260] King Princess,[261] and Girl in Red[262] to collaborate with Dessner and record songs at his Long Pond Studio.