Victoria Verrecchio '24
On April 19, 2024, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album: The Tortured Poets Department. Swifties are going wild decoding, streaming, and learning the lyrics to the whopping 31 songs on the surprise double album.
This album was released upon her recent break-up with Joe Alwyn, who she was dating for over 6 years, but also the first since she started dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swifties were anticipating a real and raw album filled with emotion and a look into Swift’s personal experiences, and she delivered with exactly that.
Tracks like “So Long, London,” “The Black Dog,” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” are vulnerable in the relationship sense, but she also opened up in different ways. “But Daddy I Love Him,” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” are about the industry and the public’s opinions and how they’ve affected her career and her life in general. Swift also had two features on this album, “Fortnight,” which is the lead single which features Post Malone, and “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + The Machine.
Two of Swift’s closest friends, Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, whom she’s worked with on past albums, are both producers on ‘Tortured Poets,’ and fans are raging about their different but unique sounds that they added to the album. Dessner’s more indie/folk sound is highlighted in songs like “The Manuscript,” “The Prophecy,” and “loml,” while Antonoff’s synth-pop style is clear in “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and “imgonnagetyouback.”
It is safe to say that Taylor Swift always exceeds expectations. This album definitely emphasizes her songwriting abilities and her ability to tell a story through a 4 minute song. A genius, who of course knows Aristotle, released yet another 13/10 album, who’s surprised?