I Listened to Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ so you don’t have too

Words: Dan Smith

Let me caveat this review right at the start by stating that I am in no way, shape or form a ‘Swifty’. I am indifferent to her. I have no pure hatred towards her like some attention seekers on the internet who just love to moan and criticise. But, by the same token, I am not a fan of her music. I can appreciate the cultural impact she has had on modern society without enjoying it, which is exactly where I am at before I begin listening to ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT’.

When it was announced she would be releasing yet another album in such a short space of time, I believed that Taylor Swift was becoming overexposed and this flame that is burning extremely brightly would begin to flicker out. In the genre I listen too most, indie alternative rock, it is often bands can go 3/4 years before releasing new music, keeping their fans engaged without oversaturating themselves. But with Taylor, it seems her fans just can’t get enough, so her releasing an album and re-releases every few months is certainly working for her (and her bank balance presumably). It’s an interesting strategy; can she maintain the quality and quantity fans expect without burning herself out? Well, that’s what we are here to find out. We have 16 songs to listen to here, so let’s get on with it.

So full disclosure, I was going to do a track by track breakdown of this record, but about 5 tracks in I quickly found out I was probably going to end up repeating myself a lot, just like the songs in this record.

I imagine if you are a huge fan of Taylor Swift you would probably find this record absolutely phenomenal, but for me I just feel like it fell flat and ultimately, pretty boring.

The high points of the record for me are ‘Fortnight (Feat. Post Malone)’ & ‘My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys’.

The opening track, ‘Fortnight (Feat. Post Malone)’, is good. Very good in-fact. Most things Post Malone is involved in ends up being great so I shouldn’t have been too surprised, but as someone who has never given Taylor Swift much of a second thought, I really did enjoy this one. It’s the first track of the album and the only one I can almost guarantee I will be listening too again when I am done with this review.

Throughout the song there is a soft bassline which just keeps repeating itself, alongside a delicate drum beat and some exceptional vocals as Taylor and Post go back and forth about how their love is ruining their lives. Strangely enough, the instrumental to this track gives off 1975 vibes, especially the last 30 seconds or so.

A thoroughly enjoyable listen, and a great start to the record.

Also, I do actually like the third track of the album ‘My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys’. I understand that, like the title track, this is again your classic modern-pop song, but I feel like this has a little more depth to it.

With Taylor you are never going to get groundbreaking lyricism or complexity, as she has grown her fanbase by being incredibly transparent with her lyrics, and saying exactly what she means leaving little to the imagination. This is what we have come to expect from her, which is why I am slightly taken aback by ‘My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys’.

This is a reflection piece on the face of things about youthful exuberance, but when you listen deeper to the lyrics I think it is a metaphor about her future relationships. Interesting.

My main issue with this record is the fact that a lot of it sounds too generic. Just dull pop songs I felt that I had already heard hundreds of different variations of already. They don’t sound original and didn’t make me feel anything. This is what I was talking about in the introduction, about oversaturation and with her releasing so much music, a lot of it will sound monotonous and not creative. Another issue with a few of these songs is the fact that Taylor is still relating her lyrics to a time in her life which is now so far apart from her life now, that it just sounds like some of the lyrics are being thrown in just for the sake of sounding relatable to the listener.

What a shame.