Bet you thought we were done. Well, surprise, surprise! We're back, baby! A new Taylor Swift album was just what we needed to resurrect the Album Files. After sitting with The Life of a Showgirl for a little while, Abby, Matt, and Iain sat down to discuss it.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Album Files! We will return (probably) to discuss Abby's pick: 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' by The Beatles.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to send us a voice memo to include in the show you can find our social media links below.

What we've been listening to lately...

Matt: ⁠⁠⁠Jacob Collier - The Light For Days

Iain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Morten Lohne - Sleeping for Years

Abby: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hayley Williams - Ego Death At a Bachelorette Party, Role Model - Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye)

You can find us on social media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@abimickey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@iaintreloar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@climbingcyclist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

"Arooj Aftab's most recent album, Night Reign, is a fascinating merging of styles with the Pakistani-American singer's breathtaking voice floating over the top of it. Something about Aftab's work has really struck a chord with me and I was excited to share it with the rest of the crew – to see whether Abby and Matt were able to find the beauty in this haunting music." - Iain

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Album Files! We will return in two weeks to discuss Matt's pick: 'Drag It Down on You' by Ceres.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to send us a voice memo to include in the show you can find our social media links below.

What we've been listening to lately...

Matt: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Post Malone, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard⁠, Eminem⁠, Lizzy McAlpine doco

Iain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Cassandra Jenkins, Alcest, ⁠Christian Löffler, Charli XCX

Abby: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sabrina Carpenter

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find a ⁠⁠playlist of the music we discussed in episode 28 of The Album Files ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠ You can find us on social media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@abimickey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@iaintreloar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@climbingcyclist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Yes, we were supposed to talk about The Last Dinner Party's Prelude to Ecstasy this week, but we couldn't stop listening to Taylor Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.

Don't worry, we'll be back to our regular episodes next time! For now, please enjoy this bonus episode that could have lasted another 54 minutes.

"Lizzy McAlpine’s sophomore album, ‘Five Seconds Flat’, was one of the first albums we reviewed here at The Album Files. It made an immediate impression on all of us and has been an album we’ve come back to again and again in the year and a bit since. So when she released her third album, ‘Older’, earlier this month, we knew we had to get together and talk about it." - Matt

We will be back next week with a regularly scheduled (what does that even mean with us) episode. Thank you for listening!

"Neutral Milk Hotel’s second and final album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998), is an indie rock cult classic, a weird and wonderful journey through the mind of a reclusive genius, and an album that’s as provocative as it is intriguing. Sonically it’s rough and unpolished; lyrically it’s largely impenetrable and often unsettling. Ultimately, this is a fascinating and important piece of art and one that’s deserving of all the attention it’s received in the past quarter century." - Matthew

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Album Files! We will be back in two weeks to discuss Abby's pick: Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party. Next week we will have a special episode about Lizzy McAlpine's Older

We'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to send us a voice memo to include in the show you can find our social media links below.

What we've been listening to lately...

Matt: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Collier - Little Blue (Mahogany Sessions), Lizzy McAlpine - Older (Jimmy Fallon)

Iain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sadness - Lana, Sylvaine - Dagsens Auga Sloknar Ut

Abby: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Beyoncé - Blackbiird

⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find a ⁠⁠playlist of the music we discussed in episode 26 of The Album Files ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠ You can find us on social media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@abimickey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@iaintreloar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@climbingcyclist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

"Before the Taylor Swift and Kanye West collabs, Bon Iver's debut album is an insular, inward-looking reflection on its frontman Justin Vernon, originally intended as a demo before going on to sell in its hundreds of thousands and birthing a new generation of singer-songwriter. It's a fascinating record not just because of what it says but what it doesn't - and the considerable mythology behind it." -Iain

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Album Files! We will be back in two weeks to discuss Matt's pick: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

We'd love to hear your thoughts, if you want to send us a voice memo to include in the show you can find our social media links below.

What we've been listening to lately...

Matt: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jacob Collier - Bridge Over Troubled Water breakdown of how he made the song, Jacob Collier - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Iain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alcest - L'Envol

Abby: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nothing this week :)

⁠⁠⁠You can find a ⁠⁠playlist of the music we discussed in episode 25 of The Album Files ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠ You can find us on social media ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@abimickey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@iaintreloar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@climbingcyclist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.