Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (Album Review)
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Written by Will Marshall
Photo: Beth Garrabrant
You have to hand it to Taylor Swift — she knows how to spring a surprise. Two hours after releasing the heavily-anticipated ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, she swapped it out for an updated version called ‘The Anthology’, turning it into a monster double album stacking up at 31 songs and more than two hours.
For once, though, it feels like Swift is on autopilot after releasing eight records, including her ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recordings, in the past four years. ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, particularly in its bloated second iteration, is ballad-heavy, indebted to Stevie Nicks and electro-pop, but its ideas are spread far too thin across its gargantuan running time.
Fortnight sets the tone admirably, serving as a continuation of the low-lit pop direction displayed by 2022’s ‘Midnights’. It offers subtle, promising nods to a new direction through its softly pulsing synths and a feature from Post Malone adds fresh dynamism.
Much of what follows, though, deals more closely in that ‘Midnights’ minimalism as Swift’s collaboration with Jack Antonoff and the National’s Aaron Dessner, who entered the fold for the pandemic pieces ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, continues.
On the title track, Swift croons, “I scratch your head, you fall asleep / Like a tattooed golden retriever.” It’s one of many moments tailor-made for lip-syncing fans on TikTok — marking her as an outlier in the wider Universal catalogue given the label’s ongoing beef with the platform — and Easter Egg hunters.
But, for a lyricist who’s been so deft with a pen in the past, this is just one of several clunky lines across the album. Devotees will no doubt pore over it, though, seeking the identity of its subject (the 1975’s Matty Healy, probably) and the same is true of songs such as My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys and I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can).
Something Swift continues to do expertly is weave her personal experiences together with a level of ambiguity that plays into fans’ desire to both dissect and relate to them. There’s just something missing here — greater variety, maybe, or a scalpel-sharp edit. ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is by no means a bad album, but it’s one that could’ve benefited from more time at the writing desk.
Taylor Swift Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu May 09 2024 - PARIS LA Defense Arena (France)
Fri May 10 2024 - PARIS LA Defense Arena (France)
Sat May 11 2024 - PARIS LA Defense Arena (France)
Sun May 12 2024 - PARIS LA Defense Arena (France)
Fri May 17 2024 - STOCKHOLM Friends Arena (Sweden)
Sat May 18 2024 - STOCKHOLM Friends Arena (Sweden)
Sun May 19 2024 - STOCKHOLM Friends Arena (Sweden)
Fri May 24 2024 - LISBON Estádio da Luz (Portugal)
Sat May 25 2024 - LISBON Estádio da Luz (Portugal)
Thu May 30 2024 - MADRID Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Spain)
Sun June 02 2024 - LYON Groupama Stadium (France)
Mon June 03 2024 - LYON Groupama Stadium (France)
Fri June 07 2024 - EDINBURGH Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Sat June 08 2024 - EDINBURGH Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Sun June 09 2024 - EDINBURGH Scottish Gas Murrayfield
Thu June 13 2024 - LIVERPOOL Anfield Stadium
Fri June 14 2024 - LIVERPOOL Anfield Stadium
Sat June 15 2024 - LIVERPOOL Anfield Stadium
Tue June 18 2024 - CARDIFF Principality Stadium
Fri June 21 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Sat June 22 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Sun June 23 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Fri June 28 2024 - DUBLIN Aviva Stadium
Sat June 29 2024 - DUBLIN Aviva Stadium
Sun June 30 2024 - DUBLIN Aviva Stadium
Thu July 04 2024 - AMSTERDAM Johan Cruijff ArenA (Netherlands)
Fri July 05 2024 - AMSTERDAM Johan Cruijff ArenA (Netherlands)
Sat July 06 2024 - AMSTERDAM Johan Cruijff ArenA (Netherlands)
Tue July 09 2024 - ZURICH Stadion Letzigrund (Switzerland)
Wed July 10 2024 - ZURICH Stadion Letzigrund (Switzerland)
Sat July 13 2024 - MILAN SAN SIRO STADIUM (Italy)
Sun July 14 2024 - MILAN SAN SIRO STADIUM (Italy)
Wed July 17 2024 - GELSENKIRCHEN VELTINS Arena (Germany)
Thu July 18 2024 - GELSENKIRCHEN VELTINS Arena (Germany)
Tue July 23 2024 - HAMBURG Volksparkstadion (Germany)
Wed July 24 2024 - HAMBURG Volksparkstadion (Germany)
Sat July 27 2024 - MUNICH Olympiastadion (Germany)
Sun July 28 2024 - MUNICH Olympiastadion (Germany)
Thu August 01 2024 - WARSAW PGE Narodowy (Poland)
Fri August 02 2024 - WARSAW PGE Narodowy (Poland)
Sat August 03 2024 - WARSAW PGE Narodowy (Poland)
Thu August 08 2024 - VIENNA Ernst Happel Stadion (Austria)
Fri August 09 2024 - VIENNA Ernst Happel Stadion (Austria)
Sat August 10 2024 - VIENNA Ernst Happel Stadion (Austria)
Thu August 15 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Fri August 16 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Sat August 17 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Mon August 19 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Tue August 20 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
Fri October 18 2024 - MIAMI Florida - Hard Rock Stadium - Complex (USA)
Sat October 19 2024 - MIAMI Florida - Hard Rock Stadium - Complex (USA)
Sun October 20 2024 - MIAMI Florida - Hard Rock Stadium - Complex (USA)
Fri October 25 2024 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Caesars Superdome (USA)
Sat October 26 2024 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Caesars Superdome (USA)
Sun October 27 2024 - NEW ORLEANS Louisiana - Caesars Superdome (USA)
Fri November 01 2024 - INDIANAPOLIS Indiana - Lucas Oil Stadium (USA)
Sat November 02 2024 - INDIANAPOLIS Indiana - Lucas Oil Stadium (USA)
Sun November 03 2024 - INDIANAPOLIS Indiana - Lucas Oil Stadium (USA)
Thu November 14 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Fri November 15 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Sat November 16 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Thu November 21 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Fri November 22 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Sat November 23 2024 - TORONTO Ontario - Rogers Centre (Canada)
Fri December 06 2024 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - BC Place Stadium (Canada)
Sat December 07 2024 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - BC Place Stadium (Canada)
Sun December 08 2024 - VANCOUVER British Columbia - BC Place Stadium (Canada)
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