April 30, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26)
I have to be honest. I was not super excited to write this review.
It’s neither because I am some devoted Taylor Swift hater, nor because I am filled with fear of angry mobs of Swiftes trying to track down my home address. My problem with the majority of Taylor Swift criticism is each opinion is much more focused on the lore and mystique of her character rather than the actual musical content.
Taylor’s rise to fame has been nothing short of astronomical, nothing the average person can really truly comprehend. As the world’s biggest pop star, she has spent the last year playing shows across North America and beyond in these grand displays of power and fame through every era of her catalog. However, when you have the power to hold tens of thousands of screaming supporters in the palm of your hand, tens of thousands more people on twitter will inevitably track your every move.
The number of personal details that have become common public knowledge has become arguably inappropriate but undoubtedly add to the persona that is Taylor Swift. A persona that often clouds the opinions of her music on both sides. So, today I am going to address the music itself, while needing to dive into lore and details occasionally. Today the goal is to review the music of the Tortured Poets Department.
Before we get into this record, I will admit my personal bias in Taylor’s discography. To me, Taylor’s 2012 effort Red is a classic album that perfectly completed the more country forward twangy start of her career. 1989 was a successful transition into Synth pop and provides some of her greatest tracks of all time. Folklore and Evermore were successful in their relative rawness and Midnights, while not her strongest, did provide a couple decent pop hooks. While I do enjoy a chunk of her catalog, I do need to bring up the key album I deliberately skipped over.
Reputation may remain to be her most divisive album to date, a true love it or hate it album. Following 1989, Taylor decided to dive into an antithesis to the pop star image that was crafted through 1989. This new darker image had the goal to add a harder edge and grit to Taylor’s character. The album decided to fully dive into lore behind several ex-relationships and an ongoing beef with fellow pop star Katy Perry. Some people loved the new attitude and confidence Taylor brought, but personally I could never connect to it. This new anger to me felt unearned and corny with a delivery of half-baked hook-less songs.
The reason I bring up this record is because The Tortured Poets Department to me has obvious parallels to that record. Like Reputation, there’s a certain bitterness to this record that the past few records did not present as strongly. Even its album cover displays this. The vibe isn’t glamor, or pop stardom, it feels devoid of passion or excitement. To me this album cover is absolutely perfect for the record but in the worst ways.
On this record, Taylor seems simultaneously sick of and chronically connected to her fame. There seems to be a growing gap between Taylor Swift the pop star and Taylor Swift the person.
Taylor Swift the pop star seems to be milking her fame and lore that allows this album to be dissected endlessly. The obvious shots towards Kim Kardashian, 1975 frontman Matty Healy, and various other exes allow twitter to work its magic as internet trolls, endlessly breaking down each syllable of the lyrics. I think they are the people that are meant to be dissecting the lyrics of this album, so as a result, I will not be doing a deep dive into each song’s lyrics.
Overall, I think we have a mixed bag from Taylor’s pen. Some moments of genuinely good similes and metaphors are also neutralized by more than enough cheese and a fair share of what almost seems to be AI generated lines. I do want to give Taylor some credit on the album’s vulnerability, the underlying human behind this record.
This record’s edge doesn’t feel like a Reputation style brutal anger, but a softer, more refined vulnerable frustration. The music itself doesn’t feel like an Era’s tour maximal production, it takes a little bit more of a restrained approach.
The production is polished and sticks to its pop roots, but I don’t feel like dancing or yelling along. It feels like a retreat from the spotlight, which feels like Taylor the human’s main goal at this point in her life. Her life as the world’s most dissected star feels like it catches up to her in this record. This feels like a new side of Taylor Swift that could be great, when we pair this honesty with great songwriting and a departure from the most obvious controversy bait, but unfortunately that is not what we got.
Out of the 31 tracks on this double album, at the very most, this record could be shortened to 10. Between constant touring, and the re-recording of her old albums, it’s clear that Taylor does not have the time or energy to create new inspired material. The tracklist feels like a B side record as opposed to a core studio album.
Taylor Swift’s early work as an honest heartbroken songwriter is what got her to this point. Red nailed that emotion, Fearless could nail that emotion, because her honesty and vulnerability is what made her a compelling character to millions. She thrived in the specificity of her words. But as soon as context is added and Taylor feeds into the tabloids and the controversy, that honesty feels lost.
This album could have been truly great if we took this more vacant and tortured production and combined it with an air tight tracklist with songs that truly come from these tortured feelings. But to me, The Tortured Poets Department lacks that same emotion that it deserves and as a result I can’t recommend anyone check out this full record.
Suggested Songs:
Guilty as Sin
Loml
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
The Manuscript
Robin
The Bolter