Get ready to take your seat because Taylor Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department” meeting is officially in session, and it’s a 31-song mega double album.
The Grammy-winner unveiled her highly anticipated 11th studio album on Friday, which unexpectedly appeared on Apple Music before its scheduled midnight release. Then, at 2 a.m. EDT, Swift surprised fans with an additional 15-song album titled “TTPD: The Anthology.”
The initial 16-track “Tortured Poets Department” album offers a relaxed and mellow listening experience on the surface. However, for devoted Swifties paying close attention to the lyrics, it reveals a chaotic and introspective journey through heartbreak, longing, anger, and self-reflection.
An exemplary moment can be found on the album’s 12th track, “loml” (meaning “love of my life”), where Swift sings, “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all.” After declaring “love of my life,” she concludes with a poignant twist, “You’re the loss of my life.”
To mark the album’s release, Swift shared on her verified Instagram page that it’s “an anthology of new works reflecting events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.”
“This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted,” she wrote. “This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry.”
Swift’s choice to collaborate with other artists on certain tracks adds depth and dimension to the album. “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + the Machine stands out as a beautiful fusion of their distinct voices, with Florence Welch’s emotive style harmonizing seamlessly with Swift’s melodic delivery.
The album’s lead single, “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone, kicks off the album with energy and catchiness. Swift’s reflective lyrics like “I love you it’s ruining my life” resonate alongside Post Malone’s soft vocals, creating a compelling blend.
According to Swift’s Instagram post, the music video for “Fortnight” is set to premiere at 8 p.m. EDT on Friday. Swift expressed her admiration for Post Malone’s songwriting prowess, musical experimentation, and unforgettable melodies.
Among her frequent collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner contribute significantly as co-writers on multiple tracks. Swift is credited as the sole writer on two songs: “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
