The song appears on the band's album First Two Pages of Frankenstein (2023), and it was released as a single on April 28, 2023.
Produced at Long Pond studio in Hudson Valley,[4] "The Alcott" is a downtempo ballad.
[8] Pitchfork critic Brad Shoup found the track to feature a "subliminal industrial rapping".
[10] In Clash, James Mellen picked "The Alcott" as a "truly stunning" track that showcases Swift's "immaculate" vocals and Berninger's "universal" performance.
[10] In a mixed review, Shoup found the track to be mostly of Swift's artistry and labelled it "the National (Taylor's Version)", and wrote: "The mess is there, just not the chaos.