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Taylor Swift has finally launched her highly anticipated eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, after announcing it back in February during her acceptance speech for "Best Pop Vocal Album - for MIDNIGHT" at the 66th Grammy Awards Ceremony.
Swift announced the album's release through a post on her Instagram where she explained that the idea behind this project was to pen down her sorrowful memories and feelings as she strives forward, only leaving the pain behind. Her caption for the post read:
"There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted. This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it."
Since the album's release, Taylor has broken multiple Spotify Records by becoming the "Most Streamed Album" in a single day in Spotify's history. She also became the "Most Streamed Artist" in a single day with this release.
TTPD was dropped to all DSPs (Digital Streaming Platforms) independently via Taylor Swift, on April 18, 2024.
Breaking down Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
Post last Friday's album drop, which consisted of 16 individual tracks, Taylor Swift surprised her entire fanbase and the music industry by including an additional 15 tracks on a new project titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, sending Swifties into a chaotic excitement online.
This review, however, will break down her first release (THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT) which contains extremely deep and poetic lyricism majorly revolving around Taylor's past relationships. Here are some of the notable themes TTPD dives into:
- Relationships
- Love
- Hate
- Pain
- Truth
- Intimacy
- Toxicity
- Jealousy
- Betrayal
Disclaimer: This album review is rated explicit. Readers' discretion is advised.
Fortnight (Feat. Post Malone)
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
Fortnight serves as the opener to TTPD with an emotional response, self-reflecting on the person Taylor believes she used to be during her attempts to move on from past relationships. The song appears to be alluding to her relationship with English actor, Joe Alwyn, whom she dated from 2017 to April 2023.
Post Malone is added as a feature as he provides backing vocal harmonies to Taylor's verses and chorus. Notable lyrics from this song include:
"And for a fortnight there, we were forever / Run into you sometimes, ask about the weather / Now you're in my backyard, turned into good neighbors."
The Tortured Poets Department
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
The lead song for this project opens with electric synths and drum progressions credited to frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, who's handled the majority of the production on TTPD.
The song appears to take listeners through an intimate relationship between Taylor and someone she used to love. The lyricism that stood out on this track include:
"At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger / And put it on the one people put wedding rings on / And that's the closest I've come to my heart exploding."
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
A thick pop/trap production on My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys draws listeners into an exceptional vocal performance from Taylor, as she metaphorically references a lover's destructive nature.
"I'm queen (I'm queen), of sand castles he destroys / 'Cause I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch / He saw forever, so he smashed it up / My boy only breaks his favorite toys," - Taylor sings in the Chorus.
Down Bad
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
An electric dreamy pop track on TTPD is the fourth song, titled Down Bad, where Swift shows just how much she used to love her ex, but with a deeper emphasis on the importance of moving on and growth.
The chorus is the most standout part of this track, with lyrics like:
"Down bad, wakin' up in blood / Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up / F--k it if I can't have us / I might just not get up, I might stay."
So Long, London
(Production Credits: Aaron Dessner)
So Long, London is a classic boppy pop anthem about the relationship Taylor and Joe Alwyn used to share for over six years, with the singer highlighting the nature of their companionship.
Interesting instances of their relationship can be found in lines like:
"I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift / Pulled him in tighter each time he was driftin' away / My spine split from carrying us up the hill / Wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill."
But Daddy I Love Him
(Production Credits: Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff)
This song is filled with a tear-jerking vocal performance from Swift as she expresses her emotional attachment to her current relationship, possibly alluding to Travis Kelce.
She structures the entire track as a fictional conversation with her father, where she's convincing him to accept her love for this person. Interesting lines on But Daddy I Love Him include:
"And I'm runnin' with my dress unbuttoned / Screamin', But, Daddy, I love him, I'm havin' his baby / No, I'm not, but you should see your faces."
Fresh Out The Slammer
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
Fresh Out The Slammer is a metaphorically rich track on TTPD as Taylor compares her ex-relationship to her being in prison. The track highlights how she's finally free from the restrictive nature of this relationship and can now be herself, with lines like:
"Gray and blue and fights and tunnels / Handcuffed to the spell I was under / For just one hour of sunshine / Years of labor, locks, and ceilings / In the shade of how he was feeling / But it's gonna be alright, I did my time."
Florida !!! (Feat. Florence + the Machine)
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
When Taylor spoke with iHeartRadio, she explained how Florida is the state criminals escape to in an attempt to restart their lives. She highlights this idea in Florida !!! when comparing it to her need to move there in an attempt to distance herself and bury the pain of past relationships.
The song's bridge, sung along with Florence Welch, emphasizes this point with lines like:
"I need to forget, so take me to Florida / I've got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida / Tell me I'm despicable, say it's unforgivable / What a crash, what a rush, f*ck me up, Florida."
Guilty as Sin?
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
Guilty as Sin? appears to be a track that speaks on the relationship Taylor supposedly shared with Matty Healy, the lead singer for The 1975, with references like "Blue Nile" which the English singer has referred to as his favorite song.
Taylor even appears to be taking shots at the media who criticize her publicly for her past relationships, citing her own choices as what she wishes to stick by, with lines like:
"If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me / They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly / I choose you and me religiously."
Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
The anthemic 10th record on this album is Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?, which incorporates an orchestral pop production over a vocal performance from Taylor that highlights her annoyance at the constant media rumors that surround her life.
She speaks about criticisms and allegations like Swift hiding secrets from her fans to hiding messages in her songs to make them more catchy, with lines like:
"So all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebs / I'm always drunk on my own tears, isn't that what they all said? / That I'll sue you if you step on my lawn / That I'm fearsome and I'm wretched and I'm wrong / Put narcotics into all of my songs / And that's why you're still singin' along."
I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
The song, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can), is a record about Taylor's unwillingness to accept society claiming that the person she's in a relationship with is too toxic for her well-being, citing how she believes she can be the one to fix him.
The song takes an interesting turn toward the end as Taylor finally accepts she was wrong and that she can't fix him, with lines like:
"They shook their heads sayin', God, help her / When I told 'em he's my man (I told 'em he's my man) / But your good Lord didn't need to lift a finger / I can fix him, no, really, I can (No, really, I can) / Woah, maybe I can't."
loml
(Production Credits: Aaron Dessner)
Although the song is titled loml, referencing the popular urban slang standing for "Love of my life," Taylor subverts expectations by turning the meaning of the abbreviation into "Loss of my life".
The song is reflective and takes listeners on a journey through Taylor's version of events from her past relationships, with lines like:
"Who's gonna tell me the truth when you blew in with the winds of fate / And told me I reformed you? / When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes."
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart is one of the most entertaining pieces of production on this project, with Antonoff incorporating an electric atmosphere to the track's composition with synths, subtle background noises, and drum progressions that create an illusion of Taylor performing in front an extremely large audience.
She spends the whole track narrating how even though she's unhappy, she doesn't need anyone to tell her to put on a fake smile for her fans since she "can do it with a broken heart". Notable lines from this track include:
"Breaking down, I hit the floor / All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, More / I was grinnin' like I'm winnin' / I was hittin' my marks / 'Cause I can do it with a broken heart."
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
(Production Credits: Aaron Dessner)
Taylor opens The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived by telling the story of an ex-lover who she believed was a good man but eventually showed his true colors, with this person supposedly turning out to be extremely shallow.
Aaron Dessner's production on this track is very well put together as his composition brings out these themes of disappointment and betrayal, highlighted in lines like:
"Who the f*ck was that guy? / You tried to buy some pills / From a friend of friends of mine / They just ghosted you, now you know what it feels like."
The Alchemy
(Production Credits: Jack Antonoff)
The Alchemy is a song where Taylor alludes to the relationship she has with NFL Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce by filling the track with several football references like touchdown, team, trophy, league, and more.
She explains how "this relationship is meant to be" when she uses Alchemy as a substitute synonym for the word "Chemistry," in the lines:
"Baby, I'm the one to beat / 'Cause the sign on your heart / Said it's still reserved for me / Honestly, who are we to fight thе alchemy?"
Clara Bow
(Production Credits: Aaron Dessner)
Clara Bow is the final track on Taylor Swift's 11th studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, where the singer appears to compare herself to the 1920s silent film star, Clara Bow.
She pays homage to her success by highlighting how not many people believed in her during the early stages of her career, making this song a testament to everything Swift herself has accomplished as an artist in her life. The most poetic lyricism in this song is:
"The crown is stained, but you're the real queen / Flesh and blood amongst war machines / You're the new god we're worshipping / Promise to be dazzling."
Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album has garnered significant attention over the past weekend from breaking Spotify "All-time" records to receiving critical acclaim online.
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT could likely be well on its way to becoming the 14th No.1 album of Taylor's career.
