On April 19, Taylor Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department.” The original 16-track album was released at midnight, followed by 15 additional songs at 2 a.m.
As the title hints, the album is full of tortured thoughts from what we believe is mostly about her past relationship with Matty Healy.
Swift has been known for writing songs about her relationships and has faced media backlash for years in doing so, “The Tortured Poets Department” was deemed as just another breakup album upon its release, but I think it’s so much more than this.
The lyrics mock those who saw this album as only a breakup album. The context of these tracks is mature and not just in the explicit warning attached to the seven tracks. Swift has been known in recent years for challenging the music industry by increasing the vocabulary in her songs with words that most fans have to research the meaning of. This fact alone proves that this album isn’t just the breakup album it seems to be. It’s a true heartbreak mentioning the potential marriage and kids that could’ve been, and even a few mentions about drugs taking over her relationship.
No matter the opinions revolving around Swift, she continues releasing music for everyone, switching up genres and outdoing herself every time. We can see her love for music and expression with every new album.
This album is a 10/10. I went through a journey listening to this album; it was truly poetry, and I can’t imagine rating this anything but perfection.
C.E. EC / C.F. / AM