On April 19, 2024, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. This release came at a time of enormous success for Swift, when sheâd been on her record-breaking Eras Tour for over a year. The unprecedented time of fame for the singer, while awarding The Tortured Poets Department with impressive streaming numbers, also brought attention to the album that, in the case of many critics and music listeners, wasnât exactly positive. People criticized Swift’s decision to announce the album at the 2024 Grammys, supposedly taking attention away from other artistsâ achievements. The album, with 31 songs accounting for the deluxe Anthology version, was far too long, according to many listeners, and the lyrics were accused of being convoluted, confusing, and rambling. Reviews of the album seemed to center more around Taylorâs role as a public figure rather than the actual merit of the music. Reflecting on the album a year later, it seems that the preoccupation with Swift’s public presence that accompanied the âTaylor Maniaâ of last year might have made people too eager to criticize the person on top of the world, preventing people from seeing the album as the rich and poignant work that it truly is.Â
The Tortured Poets Department, for me, came at a time of incredible significance and change in my life. I was in my last couple of months of high school, a time of hope and sadness and anxiety. Naturally, as a Swiftie, all that I was listening to throughout May and June of that year was this album, so I associate its songs with these specific emotions and events. Whenever I hear the funky and atmospheric guitar intro to âFresh Out The Slammer,â I am immediately transported back to May of last year, driving in my car with this song on repeat on the way to my friendsâ graduation parties. This is not what the lyrics of âFresh Out The Slammerâ are about, but it doesnât matter. For me, that song and the album as a whole represent what I felt during that time: the sadness of change, the freedom of summer, and the bittersweet feeling of leaving behind a chapter of your life.Â
Beyond my emotional attachment to the album, I think that the writing of The Tortured Poets Department is excellent in its striking honesty. Swift conveys her feelings to us without holding back, even if it paints her in an unflattering light. She admits to falling for a romantic âschemeâ in âThe Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,â believing that a fleeting situationship was the âlove of her lifeâ in âloml,â and admits to her irritation with righteous judgement from her own fans about her dating life in âBut Daddy I Love Him.â This honesty adds emotional nuance to Swift’s writing, which had been missing in the past when she had painted herself as the simple victim and her muses as the clear-cut villains. In The Tortured Poets Department, however, she laments the heartbreak and emotional attack felt at the hands of an ex, while also recognizing her own complicity and dishonesty, as well as conceptualizing the impact of her fame. The album is emotionally vulnerable and, therefore, emotionally touching. Hearing Taylor return to the diaristic confessions heard on previous albums like Red and Speak Now was also refreshing to hear after the very vague lyrics of her last album, Midnights.Â
In all honesty, some of the critiques fired at The Tortured Poets Department are valid. 31 songs make for a very long album, one in which there are sure to be clunkers – I confess that âSo High Schoolâ is my least favorite Taylor Swift song. Some of the overly verbose bridges (âHow Did It End?â) or oddly specific lines (âThe Tortured Poets Departmentâ) had me scratching my head on the first listen, and somewhat still to this day. But itâs an honest and candid reflection of a time of both life-altering success and life-altering heartbreak for Taylor Swift. Proliferation was her lifeline, and as a result, we get to enjoy a stylistically rich and lyrically complex work which I am sure will only grow to be more appreciated over time.Â