24 October 2026 (released)
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Known for giving Taylor Swift songs a high-energy pop-punk makeover, Call It Off have built a passionate following among both Swifties and punk fans.
After the Sheffield show, we caught up with the band to discuss their love of Taylor's songwriting, surprising fan reactions, and the crossover between two seemingly different worlds.
You've become known for giving Taylor Swift a punk-rock makeover. How did that idea come about?
Call It Off: Honestly, I'd had the idea in my head for about 20 years because I'm an OG Swiftie. I've always said Taylor is the queen of emo. The fact she's never done a full emo album is crazy to me.
We never wanted it to become too much of a "me" thing within the band, but after our record NASA we wanted to clear our minds and just do something fun. We started with random covers, then Marie suggested covering "Fortnight." It felt so natural. We did another one, talked about doing a covers EP, and then Timmy said, "Forget that, let's do a Taylor Swift EP." That eventually became the idea of doing a whole Taylor-inspired record.
What was it about Taylor's music that felt so natural in a punk-rock setting?
Call It Off: The first time I heard Taylor, it felt like I was listening to my own songwriting, only way better.
The lyrics, the arrangements, the lead parts, the drums, the attitude, everything already felt like pop-punk and emo songwriting. The difference is that she's using synths, banjos or mandolins where we're using guitars. The structure is already there. That's why it translates so well.
If Taylor Swift turned up to one of your shows, which cover would you most want her to hear?
Call It Off: For one of us it would be ‘The Way I Loved You’ because, let's be honest, that's basically a declaration of love.
For another, it would be ‘Blank Space’ because we'd want to see her stage dive.
For me, it's ‘Enchanted’. The first time I saw Taylor live during the Speak Now tour, she played that song and it felt like the whole world stood still. Every time we play it, I'm trying to repay that debt because the song means so much to me.
Taylor's music and punk rock seem very different on the surface. Why do they work together so well?
Call It Off: They're actually much closer than people realise. Emo and pop-punk are full of melodic lead parts and emotional storytelling. Taylor does the same things, just with different instruments.
Taylor comes from a country background and, honestly, punk rock isn't that far away from country in terms of storytelling and honesty. We add more energy, she brings incredible vocals, but the foundations are very similar.
Do you think Taylor will ever make a full punk or emo record herself?
Call It Off: Absolutely. I genuinely think she'll do it one day. She's already spoken about bands like Dashboard Confessional and Fall Out Boy. We've been saying for years that she's an emo girl at heart. If she ever needs a band, she knows where to find us.
Have any of the reactions to your Taylor covers surprised you?
Call It Off: Definitely. ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’ was a huge surprise. We posted part of it online and it went viral.
That one felt especially cool because it's heavily inspired by Dashboard Confessional's ‘Vindicated’ and Chris Carrabba actually liked it. That was a pretty special moment.
What about responses from people close to Taylor's world?
Call It Off: We've had some really unexpected reactions. Travis Kelce liked one of our covers, and Donna Kelce liked our version of ‘The Black Dog’. Stuff like that is pretty surreal.
Do you ever worry about upsetting Swifties with your interpretations?
Call It Off: Not really, because we're doing it from a place of love. We could never top Taylor, and we're not trying to. This is our way of paying respect to songs we genuinely adore.
What's really cool is seeing punk fans discover Taylor and Swifties discover pop-punk. We hear stories all the time about couples where one person is a Swiftie and the other is a punk fan, and suddenly they can enjoy the same show together. That's probably the biggest compliment we can get.
Taylor's more recent material has received mixed reactions from some corners of her fanbase. What's your view on that?
Call It Off: Artists should make whatever music they want to make. Taylor has spent her entire career being criticised, and at this point she's earned the right to follow whatever creative path feels right.
Some people complain when she's heartbroken, some complain when she's happy. You can't win. We'd rather hear the real Taylor than have her writing what people expect her to write.
Outside of Taylor, who would be your dream collaborators?
Call It Off: Blink-182 is the big one.
Dashboard Confessional would be incredible too. We'd also love to work with Tom DeLonge, Chris Carrabba, Punk Rock Factory, The Offspring, or even Wes Borland from Limp Bizkit.
Finally, if Taylor gave you free rein to punk up any song from her catalogue that you haven't touched yet, what would you choose?
Call It Off: ‘Long Live’ would be a big one for us because it already means so much.
‘"August’ would be amazing too. There's so much emotion in that song, and it would translate brilliantly into a pop-punk anthem.
