The Tortured Poets Department dropped last month, so many songs to dissect and to truly understand what it means. Like a poetry book turned to a series of stories filled with metaphors. It’s Folklore/Evermore combined with Midnights elements.
31 songs in an album can be too much but not for Swifties which seem like a treat. Taylor Swift is continuously riding her peak in the pop music industry, keeping her relevance after all these years, and everybody seems to be a Taylor Swift fan right now. She announced her latest album on the recent Grammys Award while everybody is anticipating a Reputation re-record album drop, Taylor surely knows how to keep her fans on their toes by dropping a completely new album even in the midst of a world tour.
The Tortured Poets Department was expected to be a break-up album about her 6 year relationship with Joe Alwyn. Everybody and including me expected that this will be her most vulnerable album since Red, the whole world was surprised that her relationship with the “London Boy” ended just months after her Midnights album dropped and during her Eras world tour. But after listening to the album and reading theories about the songs on her current album, again expectations were wrong as it turns out to be more of a revelation album about her short romance with 1975’s front man Matty Healy.
After a month of listening to this album, my views somehow changed from my initial reaction to this album. I wasn’t really that invested after my first listen. It took me time to fully appreciate the music. I had this album on repeat for a full month. I had it on during my workouts, while doing chores, and while working as well. And now I find myself singing along to Down Bad while I’m on the elliptical. Blasting Guilty as Sin? in the shower, and screaming “I’m so depressed I act like it’s my birthday” every time I feel stressed out over work. But I must say I enjoyed listening to the deep cuts of the 2nd half of the project more. I think the writing and production in The Anthology is much stronger than the 1st half.
I enjoyed the synths, and you’ll know when it’s a Jack Antonoff song. I think one disadvantage of working with the same producer for half of her discography is that some songs sound like it could fit in to the other albums that she had done in the past, and you can even hear a chord progression, drum beat, and other elements sounding alike one of her songs in the past. This album is definitely a grower for me. It took me a month to digest, and learn to love it. Honestly, this is not my favorite work from her sonically. As a fan of hers since Fearless, this is not her strongest album, and would not initially recommend if I want to introduce her music to someone (sorry just being honest). But the writing and story telling is superb as always especially from someone who enjoys poetry.
This project is not just about her high profile relationship, but it talks more about her psyche through all the drama surrounding her relationships, and fame.
Fave Tracks on TTPD:
Down Bad
Guilty As Sin?
But Daddy I Love Him
So Long London
Florida!!!
Fave Tracks on The Anthology:
So High School
The Black Dog
The Bolter
I Look In People’s Window
I Hate It Here
This project felt like an end of “era”. It seems like a last chapter of a story that she has been telling for so long. Ending it with The Manuscript, she’s leaving the stories in the past and she’s moving forward. Like she said the stories are ours now. Overall, we can’t argue that Taylor’s story telling will always be astounding. I’m looking forward to her next stories.
Stream The Tortured Poets Department on Spotify
Let’s follow each other:
Gigantic Thought Bubble 