As an avid Taylor Swift fan, when she announced her album at the 2024 Grammy awards, I was overjoyed. The Tortured Poets Department is the fourth new album she has released since I became a major fan, and like many others, I thought The Tortured Poets Department would be a return to the epic folk sounds of folklore and evermore, Swift’s eighth and ninth studio albums. However, sonically, the album reminded me much more of 1989 and Lover, which is still unsurprising given the strong influence of her collaborator Jack Antonoff, who helped produce both 1989, Lover, and The Tortured Poets Department. 

To me, the standout tracks from the standard version of the album are undoubtedly But Daddy I Love Him, Florida!!! (Ft. Florence + the Machine) and I Can Do It with a Broken Heart. But Daddy I Love HIm is a classic Taylor Swift love song that echoes the same themes as her song Love Story from the album Fearless, which Swift recorded in 2012. It details a relationship between Taylor and a boyfriend whom everyone in ‘her town’, including her parents, disapprove of. Lyrically, the song is clever and shocked many when she appeared to announce a pregnancy, till a line later when she confesses to lying (I’m having his baby / No I’m not but you should see your faces). However, I do feel that Swift, as a 34 year old woman, may have outgrown the forbidden teenage romance themes she clings to in this song. What her parents think of her partners now is pretty much irrelevant. Florida!!! (Ft. Florence + the Machine) is a wonderful collaboration between Swift and Florence Welch, who provides stunning vocals to the song that somewhat strikingly contrast with Swifts. The music backing the chorus has a strong drum line, and is unlike any other song of Swifts. This song broke up some of the monotonous synth of the album that did seem to drag on for some time. I Can Do It with a Broken Heart is a song about Swift’s experience touring while simultaneously experiencing a break up with her long time boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song describes how Swift knows she is good at her job because, despite the fact that her heart is breaking, she is still able to perform for hundreds of thousands of people every night. The song is upbeat and displays Swift’s higher vocal range, which also helped breakup the lower, alto sounds in the album.

However, The Tortured Poets Department was a double album, and from the second part, titled The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, the standout tracks to me were Imgonnagetyouback, thanK you aIMee, and The Bolter. Imgonnagetyouback features clever lyrics about the meaning of the phrase ‘get you back’, as Swift contemplates ‘whether I’m gonna be your wife or / gonna smash up your bike I haven’t decided yet / but I’m gonna get you back’. Swift beautifully illustrates the mistakes made in the relationship and frustration she feels towards her partner and her yet remaining desire to stay with them. The bridge on this song is one of the best on the album, both lyrically and sonically, as she sings it in a slightly higher pitch that fits well into the song. thanK you aIMee is theorized to be about Swift’s tumultuous relationship with Kim Kardashian, as the song title features her name in the capitalized letters. The song describes how Swift felt small compared to Kim in the industry but worked hard to build a name for herself in the face of Kardashian’s criticisms. I think the theme of the song, which centers on not forgiving but recognizing the actions of those who have wronged you, and how they have contributed to your life and where you ended up. At first, Swift curses ‘aimee’ for hurting her, but ultimately realizes that without her, she would’ve never gotten to where she is when she says I wrote a thousand songs that you find uncool / I built a legacy that you can’t undo / but when I count the scars there’s a moment of truth / that there wouldn’t be this if there hadn’t been you. Swift thanks ‘aimee’ at the end of the song, symbolizing how she is moving on from a conflict that defined her life for so long. The Bolter is a lyrically brilliant guitar song born from both Swift and her other collaborator, Aaron Dessner, founding member of the band The National. It wonderfully represents the narrative Swift is often forced into, that of a woman who leaves partners at any sign of trouble. She cleverly introduces the title of the song in the first few lines when she sings splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless / excellent fun ’til you get to know her / then she runs like it’s a race / behind her back, her best mates laughed / and they nicknamed her “The Bolter”. It shows how everytime Swift senses trouble in her relationships, she ‘bolts’ and leaves them angry and sad. However, the song concludes with Swift singing about how when she leaves relationships, it feels freeing and leaves her with ‘the best stories’. Swift accepts her life as a ‘bolter’ and tries to explain how it feels to her.

Overall, the album was quite cohesive. True to its name, the album placed a lot of emphasis on the lyrics rather than the music behind them. I do think the album is very good, although not the level of Swift’s most celebrated albums, 1989, reputation, and folklore. It is definitely worth a listen to any who enjoy any of Swift’s music.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from MUSE.