Taylor Swift Announces Surprise Album ‘Folklore’ On July 23, Swift announced that she would be releasing her eighth studio album, ‘folklore,’ at midnight. The album, which was written and recorded during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, contains 16 songs and one bonus track. Taylor Swift, via Twitter Swift said she collaborated with a number of her “musical heroes” to write the album, including Aaron Dessner, Bon Iver, William Bowery and Jack Antonoff. In her announcement, Swift described the album as containing songs that she “poured” all of her “whims, dreams, fears and musing” into. She also spoke about how she was inspired to release the album because of the “uncertainty” of the world. Taylor Swift, via Twitter Swift will also drop the music video for her song "cardigan" tonight, which she wrote and directed.