This morning has many Taylor Swift fans exclaiming "I love you, it's ruining my life" as their sleep schedules were demolished by the release of not one, but two lengthy albums overnight.
Following The Tortured Poet's Department's 16 tracks of dense lyricism and exceptional production, Swift dropped a second installment just two hours later, with 15 more tracks to dive into. Not only is it a long listen, but its layered lyrics leave the listener frantically processing what Swift could be revealing about her personal life, while also decoding a song's meaning within its own narrative.
At its best, the album finds Swift tapping into sonic highs of her career. At its worst, the album is uninteresting and long, getting too lost in its own meaning to push the momentum forward. It could take a "Fortnight" to actually digest much of what Swift is implying throughout the record, but it's still a welcome addition into her catalog.
As far as its production goes, Swift worked with longtime collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, the team behind her Grammy-winning album Folklore. The trio continues to prove themselves as a force within the industry, once again creating a new musical landscape that fully enraptures the listener.
Dessner, however, does most of the heavy lifting throughout the album's 31 track run. As he continues to elevate Swift's musical ambitions, Antonoff seemingly brings them down by crafting 80s pop beats that feel redundant in her layered library of excellence. After working on nine of Swift's albums, it now seems that he has overstayed his welcome within this "department."
Antonoff still created some justifiable entries, including the pounding Florence + the Machine duet "Florida!!!" and soaring "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?," proving that he can still churn out some hits that don't sound like every other Bleachers song.
Yes, The Tortured Poet's Department feels messy at times, between its over-indulgent lyrics and uneven production quality. Yet it still delivers just what one would expect from a scathing breakup album from Swift. The occasionally jarring contrast in production often exemplifies the scattered writings of a scorned woman. Boppy songs like "Down Bad" and "Fresh Out the Slammer" are evened out the blistering "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."
Dessner's contributions to the album soar over Antonoff's, once again excelling in creating intricate, yet soft melodies that amplify the "Karma" singer's hauntingly stunning lyrics. Their collaboration makes the light drizzle of a song like "loml" feel like a torrential downpour.
Most of the LP finds Swift fanning the flames of her former flame Matty Healy of The 1975, who she was rumored to have been in a short, casual relationship with in 2023. The forbidden playfulness of their relationship proves to be much more fertile ground to capture in song, although Swift does not let her longtime ex Joe Alwyn off scot-free.
The highlight of the album is delivered as one of Swift's signature fifth tracks, "So Long London." The Dessner-produced tune pulls the reader into her devastating breakup, both with Alywn and with the U.K. city where they spent most of their time. Its heart-rending text and spiraling melody place the song as a new career-high for the songstress, following in the footsteps of "All Too Well" and "My Tears Ricochet."
The 15 extra songs added to the 2 a.m. "Anthology" release also includes some high points, from the ferocious "thanK you aIMee" - seemingly a whack at her beef with Kim Kardashian - to the shattering "The Manuscript." While they seem overwhelming after the initial album drop, they will no doubt evolve into tracks that Swifties are clamoring to hear during the "Surprise Songs" section of the Eras Tour.
With The Tortured Poets Department, Swift continues to exercise her title as the reigning queen of the music industry, never shying away from an ambitious two-part drop such as this.
She once again proves that she can do it with a broken heart... and then do it again two hours later.
