At midnight on Friday, April 19th, Taylor Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department” was released. Two hours later, Swift surprised her fans with the deluxe version, “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” which is a double album. The additional 15 songs the deluxe album has makes it so there are a total of 31 songs on the album. However, I will only be reviewing the original 16 songs.
The first track on the album is “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone. The music video for this single was released at 8 pm the day the album came out. This single is currently one of the most popular among fans. “Fortnight” is a term used to describe a timespan of two weeks; because of this, it is theorized that the song is about the last two weeks of her relationship with her ex-partner Joe Alwyn. This likeable song leaves listeners with a good first impression of what the rest of the album will sound like.
The second track on the album is “The Tortured Poets Department.” In this song, Swift sings about feeling disillusioned about one of her relationships, calling both herself and her partner “modern idiots.” The title of this song and album references Joe Alwyn, who had an infamous group chat named “The Tortured Man Club.” “The Tortured Poets Department” is a catchy and well written song that portrays what insignificance in a relationship feels like.
In the third track on the album, “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” Swift creates a metaphor for herself from the perspective of a child’s toy.
In an interview about the song she stated, “It’s a metaphor from the perspective of a child’s toy; being somebody’s favorite toy until they break you and then don’t want to play with you anymore.”
Swift sings this song in mostly her low register which adds to the feeling of the song. It is another very well written song that includes underlying messages relating to her past lovers.
The fourth song on this album is called “Down Bad,” and it is about Swift being willing to do anything to save a failed relationship. The song’s writing and production really highlight the feeling of uneasiness and anxiety one would get amidst a breakup. Despite that, I think this song is far from the best on this album. In regards to the production, the rhythm is offsetting, and there is way too much synth for the song to be as enjoyable as the others.
The fifth song on “The Tortured Poets Department” is “So Long, London.” The first thirty seconds of the song is supposed to replicate the sound of wedding bells, but in my opinion, this is not a strong start to the song. “So Long, London” has been interpreted by fans to be about Swift’s ex partner, Joe Alwyn. The title of the song comes from the fact that Alwyn was raised in northern London. Although the lyrics are meaningful, the actual music does not match the vibe. Historically, Swift’s fifth tracks are usually written and produced to be the saddest; however, this one is just too upbeat to live up to that reputation.
The sixth track on this album, “But Daddy I Love Him,” takes a dark turn. Swift takes a shot at the fans for the backlash she faced for dating Matty Healy. This song is around six minutes long, with most of the lyrics being composed of subliminal messages targeted towards the fans – most of which reference her distaste towards their seemingly unwarranted opinions. For me, the meaning of the song does not leave much room for personal interpretation and is not very relatable for the average listener.
Track seven on the album, “Fresh Out The Slammer,” is about how Swift reconnected with Matty Healy right after her relationship with Joe Alwyn. The word “slammer” is slang for prison, meaning she felt trapped in her relationship – hence why she “did her time” and is “running back home.” This song has very catchy instrumentals and pairs quite well with her meaningful lyrics, which are executed with more variety in registers compared to many of her other songs. “Fresh Out The Slammer” is one of the better productions on this album.
The eighth song is “Florida!!!” featuring Florence Welch, otherwise known as Florence + The Machine. This song has been quite a controversial topic in the community ever since the album was released. Many Swifties do not like this song due to the short excerpts of hard rock throughout the chorus, but in my opinion that is the best part. Seeing Swift work with an artist outside of her usual genre and producing something in between synth pop and indie rock is very awe inducing. That is why “Florida!!!” is my favorite song on the album.
The ninth track, “Guilty as Sin?” is among the best on the album. It places the idea of guilt and desire at the center of every verse. The song carries the idea of Swift falling deep in love and lust with someone and trying to decide whether she should pursue it or not. I love how the instrumentals sound, and how it matches the pace of the lyrics.
The tenth song on the album, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” dives into topics of Swift’s reputation, and how fame changed her as a person. In a verse of this song, the background vocals say, “At all costs keep your good name,” and that is supposed to symbolize people on her side trying to prevent her from doing something she may regret out of anger. I like this song because Swift portrays her anger in a way that is relatable to the audience. Along with this, it is a song that is easy to sing along to.
The eleventh track, “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” is a shorter but sadder song about a woman in a relationship with a troubled man, and how despite the disapproval and warnings from the people around her, she is set on the fact that she can fix him. In my opinion, this song is neither good nor bad. The production of this song is very minimalistic; and in my opinion, it is a rather forgettable song.
Track twelve, “loml,” is a sad love song. The title actually stands for “loss of my life” instead of “love of my life.” From the title, fans assumed it to be a happy song about her current partner, Travis Kelce; however, they ended up with the exact opposite. Though this song is very emotional in its writing, the instrumentals are a bit lacking. Unless I am in the right mood, it is easy to find this song boring.
The thirteenth song is called “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” and it is supposed to encapsulate the heartbreak she felt during her famed “Eras Tour,” and going in front of an audience to perform like every other time while going through a breakup with a long-term partner could not have been easy. I like this song because I find it very inspiring.
The fourteenth track, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” is the best written song on the album. It captures the feeling of emotional distress that comes when engaged in a toxic relationship. The lyrics explore themes of betrayal and the desire for closure. The mood and tone in this song constantly switches, which is one reason why I really enjoy it – it gets better each time you listen to it.
In the fifteenth song, “The Alchemy,” Swift sings about her newfound love: Travis Kelce; and about how despite any of the problems that happened in her past relationships, she has faith that this one will end well. I personally think it is a good song; however, it does not really stand out from the rest of her discography.
The closing track on the album, “Clara Bow,” is a nice finale to the album. The song is about growing up famous and being in the spotlight all the time. There are a couple of key names she drops, the most in-your-face being Clara Bow. Clara Bow was one of the first major film stars back when films were in black and white, hence why the whole aesthetic of this album is monochrome. The other name is Stevie Nicks, who wrote a poem called “The Manuscript” which is exclusive to the physical copies of the album. Both of them are idols to Swift, which makes this song more meaningful.
Although “The Tortured Poets Department” is pretty good, it does not compare to many of her other albums. Many of the lyrics were meaningful, but had questionable executions through the musicality. The highs on this album were very high, and the lows were very low. I do recommend listening to it if you are into her more mellow music, as most of this album is on the slower side, and would especially recommend a listen for pop fans. Taylor Swift has not disappointed her fans with this new double album.