Despite being in the midst of the record-breaking Eras World Tour, an incredibly public courtship with NFL star Travis Kelce, and the release an astounding 8 albums in the past four years (which includes four of her “re-recorded albums”, a concept we previously covered with her 2021 edition of Red) Taylor Swift managed to find some time in her day to drop THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT two days ago. And, like everything she touches, it lit up the internet like fireworks on the 4th of July.
In the past I’ve spoken about how Swift’s songwriting chops have put her on the level of iconic songwriters like Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, and Bruce Springsteen, and that theme stays present in her newest release. Billed as a concept album based off all the broken hearts she’s sustained over the years, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT chronicles Swift’s famously public romances and lays out all of the elements that led those relationships to failure, before closing the album with “The Alchemy” which very clearly references her new relationship with Kelce and provides a little sunshine peering through at the end of the relatively sorrowful affair. That feeling was clearly intentional considering the message she shared with fans upon release of the album when she said “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.” For someone who has built a magnificent career out of airing dirty laundry in the most over the top way possible, giving a little peek behind the curtain is a nice touch.
The slow dreamy synth-pop stylings of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT are incredibly well produced, sound crystal clear, and rehash a lot of the ground she has previously covered over the past six years. At this point Swift has perfected the art of the B+ album, especially with her double album anthology releases– 20 songs that are an enjoyably average C (but never dipping below that), 5-7 songs you’ll remember for awhile, and a handful A+ bangers that you’ll never forget. This isn’t a bad thing– the consistency is incredible and lends itself to having her music on loop for hours on end, and is certainly a huge reason why she’s one of the songwriting GOATs– but it does tend to blend together the more it goes on. As one of my friend succinctly put it, “She’s become the Netflix of the music world, consistently slight above average content with no shortage of it, and no end in sight.”
Considering all of this, as well as the statement she put out when she released her album on chapters being closed, I’ll put a bold prediction down and say that Swift’s next album takes on a significantly different musical direction with her next release. Whether it’s a return to her country roots, or something that’s a little more up-tempo and guitar-driven, my guess she puts the reverb-drenched pianos and synths behind in favor of a more dynamic approach. THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT feels like the final words that needed to be said before she was ready to say something new. It feels like it’s time for that next act.
Standout Songs: “The Tortured Poets Department”, “So Long, London”, “But Daddy I Love Him”, “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”, “The Alchemy”
