Award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift has no doubt made her name known within the music industry. Dominating the charts with a current total of 11 noteworthy albums, the country-turned-pop artist solidifies her talent and fame with her striking musical projects and performances. Her latest release attests to her talent.
When Swift announced her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, during the 66th Annual Grammys, fans all around the world were ecstatic for the new release.
On April 19, Swift launched the album redefining her sound and pushing her creatively. The album is arguably her most personable yet. Swift reached a whole new level of sensational songwriting and, as usual, emotional music that hits the audience in all the feels.
One of the defining characteristics of Swift’s music is her natural ability to convey emotional story through vivid lyricism and a beautifully crafted narrative. Fans have seen in past albums like folklore and Red (Taylor’s Version), and I feel this new album captured the beautiful aspects of her artistry better than any of Swift’s previous works. The album consists of 17 songs in total that guide the listener through a poetic narrative of Swift’s words and portray the ideals of anguish and acceptance.
The Tortured Poets Department has only been out for a few weeks, but it has already dominated the Top 10 Billboard chart and become a personal favorite album. I noticed and appreciated the way Swift showcases different influential events of her life in the songs.
“[The Tortured Poets Department is] an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time. One that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure,” Swift said in a statement.
Swift knocked it out of the park with conveying this in an abundance of tracks, making the album feel like personal storytelling rather than a catchy release. In one of my favorite tracks, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” Swift depicts her experience of dealing with angsty heartbreak while putting on a show in front of a crowd everyday.
This song immediately stuck out to me and became my favorite due to Swift’s contrast of dark, heart-rending lyrics like “all the piеces of me shatterеd as the crowd was chanting, more” with an upbeat dance worthy medley.
This personal storytelling aspect is further pushed in other songs throughout The Tortured Poets Department, such as the third track “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” which depicts Swift’s experience of her “boy” slowly breaking her emotionally. “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” encapsulates Swift’s story of her agitation and anger at her past relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, both tracks encapsulating intimate feelings from Swift’s perspective. Overall, the narrative that Swift crafted within this piece of work is simply outstanding.
Along with Swift’s storytelling, I found the uniqueness and distinctive sound qualities of The Tortured Poets Department refreshing and invigorating. Throughout the album, Swift’s ability to carefully and flawlessly transition from one sound to the next is worth noting. Within a few minutes, one goes from enjoying a synth pop – esque song like “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” to a somber, slow song like “loml.”
I was also pleasantly surprised to find out Swift included two songs featuring other artists on this album, and they were both ones to enjoy. The lead single “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone is the first track on The Tortured Poets Department. In this song, Swift depicts a short lived romance that impacted her deeply. While this is not a popular song among the public, I found it to be an exemplary way to start off the album.
Later in the album, Swift brought in rock-indie artist Florence + The Machine for a hauntingly beautiful duet titled “Florida!!!” This song captures an angry feeling and takes the listener through an emotional journey. The two artists’ collaboration is everything fans could have asked for and more.
Along with the original 17 tracks of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift shocked her fans the night of the release by putting out an additional 15 songs, making it a double album.
I adored the evocative mix of indignation and sorrow throughout the extra 15 songs. Within this collection of music, I found some of my new favorite tracks from Swift, one of which being “Peter.”
“Peter” is a beautiful, somber ballad that tells a story of the narrator losing a childhood connection and dealing with a feeling of regret, and ultimately coming to acceptance. The poignant melody accompanied with Swift’s hushed vocals perfectly underscores her visual storytelling. This song has been on repeat non-stop since I first listened to the album.
Another song that stood out to me from the second release was “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.” This track is a solemn, alluring ballad in which Swift reflects on a relationship with hurt and self-examination. With lyrics like “you needed me like you needed drugs more” and “you said some things that I can’t unabsorb, you turned me into an idea of sorts,” the listener can feel the desperate and frustrated emotion through the song.
“So High School” is a refreshing light hearted song which recalls Swift’s happiness in her relationship when she “feels so high school” because it feels like she is young, naive and in love again. This song was a breath of fresh air while I was listening and provided a fun beat with happy lyrics.
Overall, The Tortured Poets Department is a distinguished and impeccable album with few flaws. I loved the bits and pieces of the album that were relatable with Swift’s storytelling and the sorrowful aspects of the songs. Whether or not you are a long time listener of Swift, you should one hundred percent recommend sitting down and giving this album a listen.
Pitchfork, an online pop culture newspaper, put out a review of Swift’s work shortly after the release.
“A born storyteller, [Swift] gathered up the emotional ephemera of her life and molded it into indelible songs about herself, but also about young women—about their sorrow, their desire, their wit and will,” Pitchfork said.
