Is that Bruce Springsteen? Angus and Julia Stone? And why do those lyrics sound so familiar?

It couldn’t be Taylor Swift.

Or is it?

Ryan Adams, former frontman of the alternative country group Whiskeytown, released a cover album of Taylor Swift’s multi-platinum album 1989, which dropped in 2014.

The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 to widespread acclaim. Swift herself is known for channeling her romantic stumbles into lyrical gold, and Adams is cashing in on his own sorrows.

Adams announced his plans of covering the album following the breakdown of his marriage with musician Mandy Moore. He admits to finding a kind of “joy” in the lyrics of 1989, and while many don’t subscribe to Team Swift, Adams is bringing a new joy to fans of good music everywhere.

Swift, like most prolific pop stars of our generation, lacks vocal tone, range and depth. Her brand is based on the scathing lyrics and passion she pours into her brand. Her all-American background is the cherry on top of her appeal, but critics have looked past her shiny exterior. Her lyrics are raw, but her talent is not.

Adams, however, is what 1989 needed.

He isn’t catering to swarms of preteens who don’t know a riff from a run. He has no expectations to meet and no records to break. His artistic liscense gave Swift’s songs a much-needed facelift. Upbeat ballads have been turned into contemplative new classics as Adams reimagined the album that shattered records last year and catapulted Swift into a new popstar image.

Her lyrics celebrated her new image. She boasted of her conquests and string of ex-beaus in “Blank Space,” but with Adams at the helm, the song morphs into a soulful piece of emotional baggage. Her uplifting hit “Out of the Woods” is lengthened into a mourning, aching melody, trapped in endless darkness. While Swift’s performance raises hope in a troubled relationship, Adams’ interpretation gives the song a new life that is completely and perfectly devoid of life.

What originally started as a joke on social media morphed into a cover album of 1989 that is somehow more earnest and heartfelt than the track that rocketed Swift into her new image. Swifties and her haters alike can unite over this soulful take on her album.