Following a wildly successful year, Taylor Swift’s newest release has proved to be a hit. ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ came out on April 19 and included 16 songs. As a surprise to fans, a second part of the album was released, adding 15 more songs. The new album broke several records on Spotify, including becoming the music platform’s most streamed album in a week with over 1 billion global streams and being the first artist to have the 14 top songs of the Billboard Hot 100.
Throughout the album, Swift truly takes on the role of a heartbroken poet, pouring her heart into the lyrics and leaving them there for the world to see. The instrumentals combine the synth-pop sounds that were heard in ‘Midnights’ with the intimate feelings of ‘Folklore’. The styles blend together to create something that might be heard on a relaxing study playlist you can find on Spotify or YouTube, but it’s still enjoyable.
I’ve been a Swiftie since I was young, and I still remember ruining my ‘Red’ CD by overplaying it. Since then, I’ve listened to every album. However, after doing a full uninterrupted listening session of the album, I found myself a little disappointed. Every other song seemed like a broken record, repeating the same message of heartbreak or anger because of a boy. While I can appreciate songs like this, having a two hour album of nothing but that didn’t feel like it rewarded me as a listener.
The opening track, titled ‘Fortnight’, features rapper Post Malone and sets the tone for how most of the album sounds. While the pair’s voices blended together nicely, it really felt like the rest of the songs were just different versions of ‘Fortnight’. I was hoping for something in this release that I could dance to, something energetic and joyful like Swift’s previous hit song ‘Shake It Off’. I probably shouldn’t have thought about that looking back at the album’s title, as none of these songs could really be labeled as happy.
Beyond that, the lyrics didn’t really fit their role as the star of the show. At some points, they become too lengthy and it becomes obvious to the listener that the lyrics were written well before the songs, as they don’t fit in musically. This is especially disappointing given Swift’s reputation for being an extremely talented songwriter.
Overall, the ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ was still enjoyable, though it was a bit of a letdown compared to her previous works. However, I would still recommend this album to any new Taylor Swift fans or just curious listeners.
