Taylor Swift released her eleventh studio album “The Tortured Poets Department” last Friday, April 19th via Republic Records. She announced the album just two months ago, after winning a Grammy for “Midnights” for Best Pop Vocal Album. Along with the album, Swift released “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone as the first single and a double album “The Anthology” featuring 16 additional songs.
The album opens up with its lead single “Fortnight” which features Post Malone. It’s a mid-tempo synth pop hit that only gets more addicting each time you listen to it. The lyric “I love you, it’s ruining my life” is an instant ear worm that you’ll find yourself singing over and over again, even if you don’t like the song. While most people disagree, and even rank it in the bottom tiers, the album’s title track has got to be my favorite. Although this song and a vast majority of ‘The Tortured Poets Department” in general sound like B-sides to “Midnights”, it still sticks out compared to the rest. “But Daddy I Love Him”, “Fresh Out the Slammer”, “Florida!!!”, and “Guilty as Sin?” all fall back-to-back and are also three notable tracks on this album. After these tracks, it begins falling pretty short and becomes forgettable until the punch-in-your-face anthem “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” comes in the rotation. It picks up from here as “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” is a major highlight on this record; how couldn’t you love that aggressive bridge? 2 hours after the album’s release, Swift released 16 additional songs under a double album “The Anthology”. These songs are mostly co-produced with main “folklore” and “evermore” producer Aaron Dessner rather than Jack Antonoff, who has produced more of her pop albums (reputation, Lover, Midnights). This is probably a big reason for many people preferring “The Anthology” more, as Antonoff’s production is honestly starting to grow tired. Nonetheless, Swift releases yet another good album and has been on that streak for 18 years.
Overall, “The Tortured Poets Department” shows Swift’s vulnerability and how she can turn a breakup into a work of art through songs. It doesn’t compare to past albums, like “folklore” and “evermore”, but this album will surely stick with millions of Swifties given the fact that she’s pulling some of the largest streaming numbers in history.