Last month, Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department, an LP full of crushing anguish and aching transitions.
Swift announced the release upon accepting Best Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Grammy Awards, where she won her fourteenth Recording Academy accolade for her 2022 album Midnights. Fans have been eagerly waiting for her next project following the major commercial success of her Eras Tour, an international victory lap to celebrate her past album cycles and her ongoing reclamation of her past work – a story intertwined with deceit and dubious morality.
Only two hours after the album’s release, Swift surprise-released an additional 15 songs to collate an ‘Anthology’ edition to critical acclaim from major publications Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
Here’s a round-up of my favourite tracks over the behemoth 2 hours, speaking as a fan eagerly anticipating her UK tour dates next month (please note, there may be a handful of spoilers for the tour dotted throughout):
But Daddy I Love Him
Co-written by The National‘s Aaron Dessner, Track 6’s interesting title intrigued Swifties when the tracklist dropped alongside four different variants. Swift mocks the parasocial relationship often commented on by the general public, batting down fans and the press who criticised her relationship with The 1975’s front-man Matty Healy, singing “I’m having his baby / No, I’m not, but you should see your faces“. The ‘saboteurs‘, as she puts it, wanted her relationship to fail, and the endless media circus around her love life has been pressing in. These dramatised lyrics are layered alongside a bold accompanying backing track, showing the crazed haze that she was in during this love affair.
Guilty as Sin?
Praised by fans for its slinky, subdued beat and sultry lyricism, Guilty as Sin? is a highlight of the first half of the album. Swift pulls apart her idealisations of a love affair and juxtaposes them with the realities of what really occurred, continuing her commentary on the media’s portrayal of her love life – yet here we start to see the cracks within this rebound show. Despite the overall lustful theme of the song, it ends on a despondent note, with her questioning “Am I allowed to cry?“
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
Having seen clips of this song performed during the Tortured Poets segment of the Eras Tour, I found that the anger conveyed throughout the live show elevated this song to new heights. Despite not being a ‘Track 5’ (if you know, you know..), the torment and frustration echoed through the lyricism boldly represents this album’s title. “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me” is yet another reminder of Swift’s frustration with being a caged performing animal – yet choosing to play this song at her headlining, record-breaking stadium tour does raise a few eyebrows. The torture of growing up under such scrutiny is poignant, and the opening statement “You don’t get to tell me about sad” contrasts brilliantly with the bleak question posed in the previous track.
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
Jumping from the near-feral production of the last track, I Can Do It With a Broken Heart took TikTok by storm, as Swifties predicted. As seen across the album, Swift and her co-producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner love to disguise a heart-breaking track with a glitzy beat. The 130bpm track hides lyrics such as “All the pieces of me shatters as the crowd was chanting ‘MORE,'” a likely reference to the early shows of the Eras Tour where she and long-time partner Joe Alwyn split. The bright, sparkling production of this track almost perfectly encapsulates what many fans want from Taylor – the perfect, smiling pop-star image – with little to no regard for the woman behind the microphone.
Clara Bow
Clara Bow is a track that discusses the past, present and future of women in the spotlight. Clara Bow herself was a silent film star who struggled with a turbulent love life and faced extensive mental health issues. The song’s meaning itself has been debated by fans, with some believing that Swift is comparing herself to Bow, whilst others see this song as a warning to the next generation of starlets to learn from the mistakes of their elders. With Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams and Olivia Rodrigo all on the rise, and each facing criticism for one thing or another, the importance of this song – regardless of its meaning – is clear. Also, who doesn’t love a reference to Stevie Nicks!
The Black Dog
Named after a pub in Vauxhall, London, The Black Dog tells the tale of watching a past lover begin to move on – through the unexpected lens of the Find My Friends app. Within this song, Swift continues the narrative that her past lover was a coward and portrayed himself as a stronger man than he was, though this is – of course – all speculation. The track was initially titled ‘Old Habits Die Screaming’, as revealed through an early voice note shared by the singer, and the shift from grief to anger is shown as the song progresses: with “I just don’t understand / how you don’t miss me in The Black Dog” turning into “I hope it’s s****y in The Black Dog.”
So High School
Delving into the second half of The Tortured Poets Department, So High School is much more light-hearted and expresses joy within a new relationship. All of the tell-tale signs of the ‘honeymoon period’ that comes with a blossoming relationship cover this track, and this leaks into the smiles Taylor shares on stage – even whilst ‘swag-surfing’ (a tribute to the Kansas City Chiefs’ celebration dance). With cheesy lyrics like “Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto” and “You know how to ball / I know Aristotle,” is clear this song is about her new partner, Travis Kelce.
I Look in People’s Windows
Lyrically, this next song is a complete 180 from So High School. I Look in People’s Windows explores life after a breakup, particularly around the holiday season – drawing parallels to Champagne Problems, a track from 2021’s ‘evermore.’ The nods to the small things you miss after a breakup make this song all the more heart-breaking, having to “attend Christmas parties from outside” whilst realising you are no longer within their scenes of “rose golden glows” creates a morose tone, one this album ends with.
The Prophecy
This track discloses the ache of repeatedly losing an opportunity, in this case – love, with Swift bearing her soul and disclosing “Don’t want money / Just someone who wants my company.” Many of the rich and famous discuss being unable to trust others and their sealed fate of loneliness, and Swift – a newly recognised billionaire – shares this sentiment. The ‘greige’ colour she refers to is reflected in the album’s colour scheme, painting the picture of her exhausted attempts at seeking love, to the detriment of her character.
Having had time to explore this album over the past month, I’ve found the juxtaposition of anger and melancholy to be unlike any other album she’s ever released. To me, the closest album to draw a comparison to would be ‘evermore,’ due to the references of mental health and the underlying tones of distrust across the two LPs. The album has its emotional highs and lows, speaking to each listener uniquely.
Have you listened to The Tourtured Poets Department Yet?