Camille Pfister
Editor-in-chief
I am a writer. I am a poet. I have notebooks filled to the brim with stories, with lost emotions, with endless words that need to be written down before they consume me. So maybe that’s why, or at least one of the reasons why, Taylor Swift speaks to me so much. I’ve never had an awful break up- never even been in a romantic relationship. But I do have anxiety and depression. I have felt the sting of betrayal when someone you love leaves you. I write my emotions down in notebooks, and I listen to Swift’s melodious voice to heal something inside me.
The past few days have been especially healing for me. As I crawl towards finals, feeling the pressure of burnout and incomplete assignments, like she always does, Swift came to my rescue. On April 19, Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) was released. With 16 tracks, two features, and a few teased bonus tracks, I was already amped up for this release. Following her break up with actor Joe Alwyn, rumored love affair with 1975 lead singer, Matty Healy, and her record breaking, show stopping, Eras Tour, I knew this album would blow me away, break my heart, and put it back together all at once. And boy was I right. Of course, I didn’t know how right I was, and how much Swift would continue to surprise me. At 2 a.m. (ET), two hours following the release of the album, Swift, like the mastermind she is, “scheming like a criminal”, broke everyone’s brains when she announced that The Tortured Poets Department was a double album, and she released The Tortured Poets Department Anthology with 15 additional tracks.
Now, it’s only been two days (at the time of writing) since the album was released, so I am still processing all of the masterpieces that have been laid at my feet. All of the songs are filled with emotionally vulnerable and powerful lyrics that take my breath away. Swift has done something that reminded me of why I fell in love with her in the first place. She has put her darkest, most hidden emotions into song lyrics. She has made me feel like my hidden poetry for only my eyes to see has been lifted from the page and put to music. (But like, way better than anything I could ever write).
For this review, I bring you a quick run down, first impressions, and general vibes of each of the tracks on the original 16 track album.
“Fortnight” (feat. Post Molone):
“Fortnight” has a nice beat to it, and Swift’s soft, sweet voice works well with Post’s deeper voice. The music video is filled with beautiful images. Top lyric: “I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
“The Tortured Poets Department”
The title track of the album has quick, biting lyrics that flow well with the music. Swift’s voice going up high in places scratches a piece of my brain. Her name dropping of famous artists is fun and makes me look up people I didn’t know much about. Top lyric: “At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger, and put it on the one people put wedding rings on.”
“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”
This song’s beat mixes well with Swift’s voice, and her “ooohs” sound lovely. The synth pop vibe of this song makes it catchy and lovely to listen to. Top lyric: “Cause it fit too right. Puzzle pieces in the dead of night.”
“Down Bad”
Swift’s delicate voice begins singing slowly, and then picks up with the synth pop beat. The beat is fun and the melody catches your attention. Top lyric: “For a moment I was heaven struck.”
“So Long, London”
Track Five’s are known for their devastating lyrics and this song is no different. Swift sings slowly and softly, like she’s gearing up to let go. She has so much to say, but can only barely get it out. So long takes on two meanings: it’s been so long, too long, of this death, and a goodbye “so long.” Top lyric: “My white knuckle dying grip, holding tight to your quiet resentment.
“But Daddy I Love Him!”
This song starts slow, and picks up with fun, cute, lyrics in the chorus. Swift’s voice is beautiful and melodious and when the chorus hits, her voice gets louder and filled with so much passion. Top lyric: “I’m having his baby! No I’m not, but you should see your faces.”
“Fresh Out The Slammer”
This song’s beat is flowy and feels like summer. Swift’s voice is high and chill, it’s fun and is so sweet with the beat and melody. Top lyric: “Swirled you into all my poems.”
“Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
This is the summer song. The beat that hits when Swift and Florence sing “Florida” is fun and exciting. The lyrics and verse melody might be slow and dramatic, but I can still see myself blasting this song with the windows down. Top lyric: “So you pack your life away just to wait out the shitstorm back in Texas.”
“Guilty As Sin?”
Swift’s voice once again flows alongside the melody and her lyrics are powerful. A song about having thoughts about a guy, it feels like something unsaid lies underneath the surface. Top lyric: “What if I roll the stone away? They’re gonna crucify me anyway.”
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
This song gives the vibe of witchcraft, meeting in the woods with flowy black dresses. The dark beat of the music paired with Swift as her voice raises in volume is powerful and transformative. Top lyric: “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.”
“I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”
This song is slow and deliberate. Swift’s voice is careful and speaks every word like it means something. The beat matches this vibe, with low drum beats that sound like heartbeats. Top lyric: “His hand, so calloused from his pistol, softly traces hearts on my face.”
“loml”
Who knew a song entitled “love of my life” would be so emotionally devastating? One should maybe expect this when it comes to Swift. And in actuality “loml” takes on two meanings: the common “love of my life” and the much more heart shattering “loss of my life.” The piano being the sole instrument of this song makes it feel so personal and vulnerable. Top lyric: “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all.”
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”
Welcome to my favorite song of the album! The lyrics being so devastating and the music being so happy fit so well with Swift and the magic of her music. The lyric video being clips of the Eras Tour makes me hate myself just a little bit. Swift has done it again: wrote a song I relate to way too strongly. Top lyric: “All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting “MORE!””
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”
A hauntingly beautiful diss track. Only Swift could accomplish such a feat. The lyrics are witty and biting and the music is soft and slow. It’s kind of amazing how shocking it is when you listen to the lyrics. The song only gets more incredible as the music picks up and Swift gets angrier. Top lyric: I would have died for your sins, instead I just died inside.”
“The Alchemy”
Perhaps one of the only songs on the TTPD with a happy ending, “The Alchemy” is an enigma. A song about Swift’s current boyfriend, Travis Kelce, the song is filled with football references. Swift’s voice is sweet and happy, like she can’t believe she found this kind of love. Top lyric: “Baby I’m the one to beat, cause the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me.”
“Clara Bow”
The last song on the original album is about famous “it girl” Clara Bow and is a lovely reflection of fame from Swift. Her voice is melodious and she sings like she’s looking back on her life no longer with rose colored glasses, but with wisdom and lessons learned. Top lyric: “Beauty is a beast that roars, down on all fours, demanding “more.” Only when your girlish glow flickers just so do they let you know, it’s hell on earth to be heavenly.”
At the end of it all, TTPD is a masterpiece of emotions and the tragedy of love and loss. On the day of its release, in just 12 hours, TTPD became Spotify’s most streamed album in a single day of 2024, and was the first album ever in Spotify history to surpass 300 million streams in a single day. And “Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone) became Spotify’s most streamed song in a single day.
Reviews of the album are largely positive, but there is one review that I would like to discuss. In a New York Times article, reporter Lindsay Zoladz claimed that the album “needed an editor.” While the review was overall positive, it mentioned that the album struggles with “excess.” I don’t disagree with the comment, I mean 31 songs is excessive, and the lyrics come at you fast. There are a lot of words in this one album. I just propose that a point may have been missed. This album is not a polished, perfect, anthology of poetry. It’s not supposed to be. It’s the angry, heartbroken, exhausted poetry you write at 3 a.m. after you get out of the shower you’ve been sobbing in for the past hour. It’s the poetry you have to get out of your head before it consumes you. It has to be a lot, it has to be “excessive”, because emotions after a heartbreak often are. Coming from a writer, my notebooks are filled with angry, heartbroken rants that will never see the light of day. We should count ourselves lucky that someone as talented as Swift is cracking open her notebook and pouring out her soul for us to see. It doesn’t need an editor. It’s raw. It’s moving. It’s powerful. It’s tortured.