Song – Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver – ‘exile’

Wikipedia says:

“exile” (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring American band Bon Iver. It is the fourth track on Swift’s eighth studio album, Folklore, which was released on July 24, 2020. “exile” was written by Swift, Joe Alwyn (under the pseudonym William Bowery), and the band’s frontman Justin Vernon, with production by Aaron Dessner and Alwyn. Republic Records sent “exile” to US alternative radio stations on August 3, 2020.

Depicting an imaginary narrative of two estranged lovers having an unspoken dialogue, “exile” is a minimal, but cinematic, indie-folk ballad with gospel, orchestral and chamber pop elements, combining Swift’s honeyed vocals and Vernon’s deep baritone into a melancholic duet propelled by a plodding piano, swirling strings, and soaring harmonies. Upon release, “exile” garnered widespread critical acclaim, with emphasis on the duo’s vocal chemistry, the agonizing lyricism, rich instrumentals and bleak atmosphere. Music critics picked it as a standout on Folklore and named it one of Swift’s best collaborations to-date, comparing it to her 2012 single “Safe & Sound“. Several publications listed “exile” as one of the best songs of 2020.

Wikipedia includes the following in reviews:

The song received widespread critical acclaim upon release. E! Online‘s Billy Nilles described “exile” as a “devastating dream” that “hits like a punch to the gut”. Praising the song’s passion and conversational lyricism, Clash writer Valerie Magan called the song a “scintillating” duet and “a wintry, tortured monster of a song” that best showcases the “sonic beauty” of Folklore. Writing for Consequence of Sound, Matt Melis named “exile” the Song of the Week upon the album’s release, and called the duo’s pairing a “minor miracle in 2020”. Reviewing for the same publication, Katie Moulton stated that “exile” portrays a “dissolving” romance with two voices in counterpoint, and remarked the lyrics as “clever but restrained” with maturity, observing the song’s emotions to be “not only high-pitched” but possessing “complex, shifting depths”.                     

The performance below was produced during Covid, as was the album Folklore, and hence the ‘minor miracle’ reference above; it is: