Last month, Taylor Swift released her surprise new album folklore. We thought it was pretty fucking great, and the release has come with the customary buzz and success you expect from Taylor’s monolithic stature. It nabbed her the biggest #1 debut of 2020, and it also helped her hit a new milestone by becoming the first artist to debut at #1 on the album and singles charts in the same week. folklore might be more hushed and intimate, but don’t ever think Swift’s imperial pop phase is waning.

But at the same time as all the blockbuster-level stuff, folklore has been talked about as Taylor’s “indie” album. That’s mostly on account of Aaron Dessner’s involvement and people like Justin Vernon popping up, but it could be extended out to the whole aesthetic and framing of the thing. This, naturally, has led to some snark and rolled eyes on certain corners of the internet. But at the same time: The album’s really good and it’s nice to see Swift trying on a new identity once more.

So, on that note: Taylor Swift has left behind the Targets of the world in favor of the Rough Trades. Earlier today, various local record shops took to socials to show off their surprise shipments of signed folklore copies. Considering Swift’s rollouts usually come with big corporate-level partnerships, it is actually pretty cool that she’s sending these out to beloved institutions like Nashville mainstay Grimey’s. Check it out below, and bask in the bizarre sight of a Taylor Swift album with a Parental Advisory sticker.

https://twitter.com/RoughTradeNYC/status/1296461878357630977