Is Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Tortured Poets’ Actually Good?

Taylor Swift’s new album ‘Tortured Poets’ has been highly anticipated by fans and critics alike. With her reputation for storytelling through her music, many are curious to see if this album lives up to the hype. But the question remains, is it actually any good?

What Is Taylor Swift’s New Album About?

Taylor Swift released her new album “The Tortured Poets Department” on Friday, which explores the stages of grief and heartbreak. The album includes 16 songs, two of which feature collaborations with Post Malone and Florence + The Machine. Additionally, there are four bonus tracks titled “The Manuscript,” “The Bolter,” “The Albatross,” and “The Black Dog,” each featured on different vinyl versions of the album.

On Instagram, Taylor Swift described her new album as “an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.”

She captioned the post with: “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up,” she continued. “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. 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.”

What Happened After the Release?

Two hours after the initial release of her album, Taylor Swift surprised fans with a “double album” extension titled “The Anthology,” featuring 15 additional songs. She announced the release on Instagram, stating, “It’s a 2am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album… I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of TTPD: The Anthology. 15 extra songs. And now the story isn’t mine anymore… it’s all yours.”

Before the release of her album, Taylor Swift announced that the first single would be “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone. She expressed admiration for Post Malone’s songwriting, musical experimentation, and memorable melodies, stating on Instagram, “I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on ‘Fortnight.'”

Rumors Surrounding the Album

Leading up to the album’s release, Taylor Swift provided more details about the album, sparking speculation from fans that it may be about her breakup with actor Joe Alwyn. Fans noted the similarity between the album title, “The Tortured Poets Department,” and the “Tortured Man Club” WhatsApp group that Alwyn mentioned being a part of with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. Additionally, track titles such as “So Long, London” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” seem to allude to a breakup and reference the British actor.

Taylor Swift confirmed that heartbreak would be a central theme of the album by releasing five exclusive playlists on Apple Music. These playlists explore the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Did you listen to Taylor Swift’s new album?

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