Taylor Swift has been releasing music since 2003, and The Tortured Poets Department is her 11th studio album.
This album was originally published with 16 songs. Later, Taylor released “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” which added 15 more songs, totaling 31 tracks for the album.
Although this is a double album and the additional songs were a nice surprise, I think it was poorly written and not up to par compared to her previous work. I would have preferred 16 good songs, rather than 31 mediocre songs.
As a self-proclaimed Swiftie, my respect for Taylor Swift and her work declined. I believe this album was very lazy and does not show what Swift is truly capable of.
The genre of the album upset me in the way Taylor advertised it. She portrayed the album as though it would have a similar vibe to those of her previous album, Folklore. However, it did not fulfill that theme and seemed surface-level. Most of the songs have a similar feeling in rhythm, lyrics, and overall mood, but not near the same melancholic, angst emotions Folklore portrayed.
Track One, “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)”, was the worst opener Swift could have chosen for the album. The song fails to incorporate meaning. Along with this, it sounds overly auto-tuned. Swift passed up the chance to show off her vocals and the skills she has as a singer and songwriter. It was a very disappointing listen and set the expectation bar low for the rest of the album.
Track six, “But Daddy I Love Him”, at first gives the impression of an upbeat and funny song. Shortly, the song reveals nothing but a replication of the songs prior. There is a frequent feeling that doesn’t stick out from any of the other songs. It also felt very off-brand from her music. This is not a song I would willingly listen to.
Track twenty-two, “So High School”, had a very irritating rhythm and melody. The lyrics were childish, unlike most of her work. One lyric, in particular, was very strange, “Touch me while your bros play / Grand Theft Auto”. This piece seemed juvenile to her and missed the mark for me.
Track thirty, “Peter”, was one of the many songs that when revisiting the track titles I couldn’t recall anything. Even after listening to the album multiple times, this song was yet to be memorable. This is an example of how reparative and bland each song was.
While there were some songs that I did enjoy, for the most part, I felt like this album missed the mark. I expected a better product, especially considering how long Swift has been in the industry.
Overall I rate this album a 2/10 because of the lack of depth, quality, and time put into its creation.
