On April 19, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album. She released two albums: “The Tortured Poets Department” with 17 songs and a surprise deluxe album, “The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology” with 31 songs.
“The Tortured Poets Department” was released following the end of Taylor’s six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn, and the album is described as being a “breakup album”, as most of the songs focus on the unreliability of love and the pain it can cause if that feeling goes away.
Taylor’s songs aren’t songs that you can just listen to once and feel satisfied. When I first listened to the album, I didn’t have any deep connections and was unsure about it as a whole. When I listened to it again, I took in the lyrics, revisited the storylines and broke down some of the metaphors to come to the conclusion that this is her saddest album yet.
Taylor expresses her pain and sadness through lyrics like “Cause he took me out of my box / Stole my tortured heart / Left all these broken parts / Told me I’m better off / But I’m not” (“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”) and “No sign of soulmates / I’m just a paperweight / In shades of greige / Spending my last coin so someone will tell me / It’ll be okay” (“The Prophecy”). These lyrics make her songs relatable to some of her fans, especially the ones that are going through a breakup. With these lyrics, she tells us and we see how her past relationships have affected her.
Sophomore Chloe Klinger shared her feelings on TTPD. “I loved it, I thought it was fun. I think it’s one of her better albums, but it’s not the best. I would rank it ⅘ stars because it’s not the best but I really did enjoy it.” Her favorite song from the album was “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”.
Sophomore Esmee Sherrill talked about what she thought of TTPD. “I am not really a Swifty, but I thought it was good. I did feel like some of the songs felt similar to what she’s already written,” Sherrill said. “I think it’s one star out of five, but that’s just because I’m not really into Taylor Swift. I think it is similar to her other albums in the sense that some of the sounds and the lyrics are similar.” Her favorite song from the album is “loml”.
What sets “The Tortured Poets Department” apart is its lyrical depth. Taylor has always been known for her confessional songwriting style, but this album takes it to new heights. She not only has songs that reference multiple of her past relationships and brings them out into the open, she also tackles themes like mental health, love and heartbreak with honesty and sensitivity. The result is an album that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.
Taylor doesn’t need to put out any more albums for more money, fans, or press. She has enough and sometimes gets sick of it, like she has expressed in her songs. She is making this music for herself and to express how she feels to the world. These songs are personal, heartbreaking, and her message to the world. Just because she is at the “top” of her career doesn’t mean that she can’t keep growing and doing what she loves – making music.
“The Tortured Poets Department” is a testament to Taylor’s growth as an artist and her unwavering dedication to her craft. It’s an album that will leave you breathless, inspired, and perhaps even a little heartbroken – but in the best possible way.
