Fresh out of the slammer, camera flashes, welcome bashes… Taylor Swift does it again. Following the Swift fever that the whole world has been under, just as it seemed to have calmed down, Swift released her all-new, original album on April 19. With massive anticipation, she did not disappoint her awaiting fans. At the last Grammy, Swift announced this new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” in her acceptance speech when she won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Released on April 19, this new album was expected to be her first breakup album since “Red,” featuring songs presumably written about her last, six-year-long relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. However, to Swifties’ surprise, it seemingly also features songs about her current boyfriend, Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end, as well as her short-term, forgettable situationship with Matty Healy. 

Leading up to the release of “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift left many hints to fans with the number “two.” In her acceptance speech, she raised up two fingers, indicating the first clue, and continued hinting to her fans more with this special number. On the release week of the album, Spotify had a special pop-up at The Grove, Los Angeles, where fans could explore a small exhibit themed after “The Tortured Poets Department” with more clues, props, and a free Spotify bookmark. This huge easter egg hunt led many fans to believe that there could be a sister album following the release of the album, similar to how she released a sister album to “folklore,” in the form of “evermore” back in 2020 and they were almost correct. On April 19, at 2 a.m., Swift surprise-released a second edition of the album called “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” featuring 15 additional songs. 

Although Swift has a number of foot-thumping hits such as “Shake It Off” or “22,” she has never shied away from expressing the deepest depths of her feelings in her songs. This new album is no exception to this, with songs such as  “loml,” “How Did It End?,” or “So Long, London,” listeners can almost feel her heartbreak right alongside her. Since this album is primarily melancholic, it is meant to simulate different stages of grief. She also shows us some anger in songs, for instance, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” or “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” Swift demonstrates her vulnerability and versatility with this album, arguably like never before. 

Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, and Travis Kelce may take up most of the cake on this album, but this isn’t just a breakup or romance album. She also draws up some of her emotions for other familiar names like Kim Kardashian, whom the song “thanK you aIMee” is presumably about. With lyrics like “your kid comes home singing a song that only us two is gonna know is about you,” illustrating a clear nod to Kardashian’s daughter, North West, who is a known fan of Swift, it can be inferred that Swift hasn’t forgotten about the eight-year-old feud with Kardashian and her ex-husband, Kanye West. Instead of using it to fuel more anger, the song bittersweetly tells about how Swift now appreciates the life lessons she learned from that fiasco and the underlying importance and impact it has on her.

Onto the featured artists that Swift collaborated with for this album, there are some new additions to the lineup of singers she has worked with. The “Dog Days Are Over” singer, Florence Welch, lead vocalist of the band “Florence + The Machine,” joined Swift for a fan-favorite, “Florida!!!” Since the release of this song, it has been used for a lot of Florida vacation promotions and advertisements, as well as trending audio for those visiting Florida this spring. Post Malone, another popular singer, also joins her for this album’s lead single “Fortnight,” which has already been crowned the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Fans split over the song “Clara Bow” from this album, which is based on fitting into new standards for women in the industry and its difficulties to keep up with the constant demands of more. Many have theorized who it could ultimately be about. It touches on Swift’s predecessors, such as Clara Bow, a famous actress in the 1920s, and Stevie Nicks, a very famous female singer in the 1970s. As the song plays, it starts from “you look like Clara Bow in this light,” a verse theorized to be referencing Nicks reflecting the same spark of fame as Bow, to “you look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75, the hair and lips,” referring to herself through presumably what she has been told. Her current fame reflects that of Nick in 1975, and finally, the song’s last verse begins with “you look like Taylor Swift in this light, we’re loving it.” This is the verse that splits fans as to whom it could be about. It appears to be about whoever is taking Swift’s mantle in the future, with the question of, who? While this could be just an open-ended question, many speculate singer Sabrina Carpenter who has been opening for Swift on the Eras Tour, or “vampire” singer, Olivia Rodrigo. 

This album was bittersweet, touching, gentle, and simultaneously aggressive. This album is highly recommended to those who enjoyed her previous original album, “Midnights” or “folklore.” It is definitely a very deep album and another example of Swift’s ensorcelling vocabulary. Its versatile selection of songs also makes it great for enjoyers of other music genres. Songs such as “But Daddy I Love Him,” feature somewhat of a pop rhythm to it while retaining a country beat. My favorite song on this album is “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” instead of the soft tone she commonly uses in many other songs, this song demonstrates her vocals well. Overall, This album is rhythmically and lyrically a gift from Swift. As someone who generally enjoys her music, I may be a little too partial to Swift’s work to judge, but I feel I can safely say that there are at least one or two songs on this album everyone can enjoy.

The Tortured Poets Department Tracks

Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)

The Tortured Poets Department

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

Down Bad

So Long, London

But Daddy I Love Him

Fresh Out The Slammer

Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)

Guilty as Sin?

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

loml

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

The Alchemy

Clara Bow

The Anthology

The Black Dog

imgonnagetyouback

The Albatross 

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

How Did It End?

So High School

I Hate It Here

thanK you aIMee

I Look in People’s Windows

The Prophecy

Cassandra

Peter

The Bolter

Robin

The Manuscript