Taylor Swift, “The Tortured Poets Department”
4 stars (out of 4)
Taylor Swift knows a thing or two about grief.
鈥淢y words shoot to kill when I鈥檓 mad,鈥 mused Swift in 2020, on “This Is Me Trying,” a song about self-sabotage, addiction and the crushing power of disappointment. 鈥淚 have a lot of regrets about that,鈥 she continued, cementing the song as one of the most crushing tracks on 鈥淔辞濒办濒辞谤别,鈥 and 鈥 at the time 鈥 perhaps even her entire discography.
With 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department,鈥 Swift has sharpened her pen, injecting the synthy introspection of 鈥淔olklore鈥 with the irreverence of 鈥淩eputation鈥 (2017) and the bedazzled confidence of 2022鈥檚 鈥淢idnights.鈥 On her 11th studio album, a two-part, 31-track odyssey through heartbreak, Swift is feeling all her feelings. Sadness, anger, and manic glee seep through an album laced with all five stages of pain 鈥 and she鈥檚 not apologizing for any of it.
Nor should she.
With 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department,鈥 Swift has assembled an album that鈥檚 both sonically cohesive and lyrically diverse, suggesting a glittery, grimy world of torrid love affairs and broken promises.聽In some ways, 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department鈥 is a project that may leave rabid Swifties feeling left behind: yes, Swift is aware of the incessant theorizing into her personal life, and no, she doesn鈥檛 appreciate it, no matter the intentions behind it. On聽 鈥淩eputation,鈥 Swift called out the mainstream media for creating an unflattering persona in her image. But throughout the 31 chapters of 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department,鈥 Swift pivots her scope to her own fan base, setting the record straight once and for all. Her name 鈥 and her reputation 鈥 is hers alone to burn to the ground.
Swift hits the ground running with 鈥淔ortnight,鈥 which is billed as the album鈥檚 lead single (a 鈥淧oor Things鈥-inspired music video is due to hit streaming at 8 p.m. on Friday). The opening track immediately places us within the soundscape of Swift鈥檚 Department of Tortured Poets, complete with a twangy bass line and ethereal backing vocals by Post Malone. Soon enough, on the album鈥檚 second track, we鈥檙e inside the walls of the titular department: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not Dylan Thomas,鈥 warns Swift, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 not Patti Smith.鈥 Artifice has no home in this fantasy, Swift seems to say 鈥 this is a place for raw emotions in all their thorniness, a padded room insulated from outside noise.
Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” is a glittery, grimy world of torrid love affairs and broken promises.
APSo it goes as Swift guides us from room to room. The original version of 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department鈥 鈥 the one that dropped at midnight on Friday, not the follow-up B-side that hit streaming two hours later 鈥 boasts a very strong back half, which makes it different to the decidedly front-loaded 鈥淢idnights.鈥 鈥淏ut Daddy I Love Him鈥 is a standout, bringing to mind the excruciatingly candid lyricism of recent hits like the 10-minute version of 鈥淎ll Too Well.鈥 “I’m having his baby,” purrs Swift, before backtracking with a sly, “No, I’m not, but you should see your faces!”聽
The conversational warmth that’s always defined Swift’s songwriting is alive here. 鈥渓oml,鈥 a heavy piano ballad is imbued with loathing and regret. Swift finishes strong, too, with a stretch of bangers that starts with the frenetic 鈥淚 Can Do It With a Broken Heart鈥 and concludes with the charming, self-referential 鈥淐lara Bow.鈥 鈥淭he Smallest Man Who Ever Lived鈥 boasts a bridge that may make the track a contender for the Taylor Swift Hall of Fame,聽while “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” shows off startlingly impressive vocal聽gymnastics in its聽chorus.
Then comes the B-side, released in the wee hours of Friday morning, impervious to pre-release leaks and rumourmongering. Here, the post-mortem scorch continues, slaloming between previously announced bonus tracks like 鈥淭he Bolter鈥 and 鈥淭he Manuscript鈥 and brand-new titles, such as the wispy, devastating 鈥淩obin.鈥
Who inspired 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department?鈥 Who cares? Eagle-eyed Swifties will be quick to draw lines between Swift鈥檚 songs and the real-life people who inspired them, but ultimately, the autobiography of Swift鈥檚 work tends to be the least interesting thing about it. What鈥檚 far more exciting is the music itself 鈥 the perfect alignment of Jack Antonoff鈥檚 production and Swift鈥檚 songwriting, for one, as well as guest appearances by artists like Florence Welch, who鈥檚 in top form on tracks like 鈥淔lorida!!!鈥
Swift wasn鈥檛 lying when she told us in 2020 that she鈥檚 capable of wielding a cruel tongue against those who鈥檝e wronged her. Indeed, her words shoot to kill when she鈥檚 mad.
But inside the walls of 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department,鈥 those words have gone to grad school, tried some party drugs and stopped caring about the opinions of those on the other side of the wall. Yes, this album is Swift at her most chaotic and the theatrics of the surprise double-pronged release might聽seem a bit much to those not steeped in her lore. But this album 鈥 both the record itself and its rollout 鈥 showcases Swift at her most thrilling, with creative risks that pay off by the time she reaches the first chorus of 鈥淔ortnight.鈥
Expect heavy radio play for both halves of this album 鈥 once again, Swift鈥檚 earned it.
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