The Tortured Poets Department is Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album released on April 19th, 2024. The original version of the album consists of 16 songs and the Anthology version adds 15 extra songs, making the album a double album. The album is a mix of the lyricism from her 2020 album Evermore and her 2022 album Midnights, and also contains features from both Florence + The Machine and Post Malone. The album was produced by both Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff.
Before the album was released, Swift promoted it by having a special screen on her Instagram page, as well as dropping multiple versions of the album’s CD on her website. She also released Apple Music playlists to correspond with each of the CD’s lyrics. The denial playlist: “I love you, It’s ruining my life,” the anger playlist: “You don’t get to tell me about sad,” the bargaining playlist: “Am I allowed to cry?” the depression playlist: “Old habits die screaming,” and lastly, the acceptance playlist: “I can do it with a broken heart.”
Each album variant also has a certain color scheme and lyric on the back. “The Manuscript” has a white color scheme and corresponds with the lyric, “I love you, It’s ruining my life.” “The Bolter” has a beige color scheme and corresponds to the lyric, “You don’t get to tell me about sad.” “The Albatross” has a gray color scheme and corresponds to the lyric, “Am I allowed to cry?” And “The Black Dog” has a black color scheme and corresponds to the lyric, “Old habits die screaming.”
- Cassandra
Track 27 of the album is called “Cassandra.” This track happens to be my least favorite on the album. The piano line is amazing, but nothing other than that stood out to me. The lyrics are repetitive and feel as if it is a carbon copy of the song “Peace” from Swift’s album Folklore.
- But Daddy I Love Him
“But Daddy I Love Him” is the sixth track of the album. I find the lyrics of this song to be a bit cringy, specifically the line, “Screaming ‘but Daddy I love him! I’m having his baby!’ No I’m not but you should see your faces.” In addition, the song is not catchy like some of the others in this album.
- Robin
This song is track 30 and is not a very memorable track. The lyrics, as well as the track itself, do not stand out much.
- thanK you aIMee
Track 24 is called “thanK you aIMee” and is a dig at Kim Kardashian. The lyrics, “All that time you were throwin’ punches; I was building something,” is a reference to the feud Swift, Kardashian, and Kanye West had in 2017. Although the song has references to the beef, it is not memorable for anything other than that.
- Peter
This track sounds a lot like “Cassandra.” It has the same beautiful-sounding piano line but with enhanced lyrics.
- The Bolter
“The Bolter” is the second exclusive song released with this album. This song contains many silly rhymes like “all her lives” and “flashed before her eyes,” as well as “ended with the slam of a door” and “wish he wouldn’t be sore.”
- Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
Hence the title, this song name-drops many times. This song also sounds a lot like “Hoax” from the album Folklore and could very much blend right into that album.
- The Manuscript
“The Manuscript” is the first exclusive song on the album. This song is pretty basic until the backing track starts to build after the second verse. Other than that, this song is pretty average.
- The Prophecy
“The Prophecy” has a twinkly-sounding backing track with amazing imagery and lyricism. It is a lullaby-esque calming song.
- The Tortured Poets Department
Considering the album is named after this song, I am not very fond of it. Nothing stands out about it unlike previous title tracks like “Red,” “Fearless” or “Lover.”
- So High School
The 22nd track on the album is called “So High School.” This song does a good job of portraying a cute and happy high school relationship. There is a nice flow to the song, making it feel almost natural.
- The Albatross
“The Albatross” is the third exclusive song on the album. It has a folk-like sound and rhyme like lyrics just like “The Bolter.”
- How Did it End?
“How Did it End?” is the 21st track on the album. The backing vocals and piano line carry the song one million percent, but it doesn’t stand out much other than that.
- Clara Bow
The final track of the main album is titled “Clara Bow.” The song shows the journey of how people perceive you. She goes from Clara Bow to Stevie Nicks to Taylor Swift to show that as people grow out of the light, people will compare them to the new. This song is a beautiful ending to the album. The backing track, along with the lyrics, paints a dazzling picture.
- The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” is the third to last song on the main album. This song is another track filled wih her amazing lyricism. The backing track has a beautiful piano until the bridge, where the track changes entirely. The change adds a big build, which I love.
- Fortnight
“Fortnight” is the hit single from the album. This song not only opens up the album but features Post Malone. The repetition of, “I love you, It’s ruining my life,” tells a beautiful story, and both Swift’s and Malone’s vocals help portray that.
- Down Bad
The fourth track on the album is called “Down Bad”. The lyrics are so fun and relatable, specifically, “Now I’m down bad crying at the gym. F it if I can’t have him.” This song brings back the chill pop vibe like some songs off of her 1989 album, and I appreciate it being a part of this album.
