Taylor Swift officially released her 11th studio album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT on April 19th. With 16 tracks on the album, it clocks in at 1 hour and 5 minutes long. The album has features from Florence + The Machine on the track “Florida!!!” and Post Malone on the first single “Fortnight”.
Swifties put together easter-eggs throughout the album rollout that all traced back to the number two. Fatefully, at 2am on release day, Swift announced that this would be a double album shocking swifties with 15 more tracks. Highlights include “thanK you aIMee” a track allegedly referring to her long time feud with Kim Kardashian and “So High School” which people are speculating is about her current boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The album is receiving mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone says “This Might Be Taylor Swift’s Most Personal Album Yet,” and “The Tortured Poets Department combines the intimacy of Folklore and Evermore with the synth-pop gloss of Midnights to create music that’s wildly ambitious and gloriously chaotic.” These glimmering reviews are in contrast to The New York Times review saying “Taylor Swift Could Use an Editor,” and “Over 16 songs (and a second LP), the pop superstar litigates her recent romances. But the themes, and familiar sonic backdrops, generate diminishing returns.”
The general consensus on the album is positive but not overwhelmingly.
Long-time fans of Swift are thrilled to have so many new songs to listen to but the fans are still asking questions like how it will change The Eras Tour set and the impact this album might have on her style of music in the future? Either way, Taylor Swift has proven herself as an incredible storyteller and songwriter once again. Next time you have 2 hours to kill or a long drive, throw on this beautiful album and listen to the poetry of Taylor Swift.
