Taylor Swift “The Tortured Poets Department” instant reaction review
The Tortured Poets Department: instant reaction and review
In case you're just joining us here, a quick reminder that Taylor Swift (you know that up-and-coming singer that's starting to get a hint of recognition!?) unveiled her new album entitled “The Tortured Poets Department” at midnight as Friday 19 April arrived.
Then, two hours later, she surprised her fans by releasing double the songs for a total of 31 new songs. The usual go-to romance tracks were there but, so say some followers, there was also one song (maybe two?) that are believed to be dissin' reality star Kim Kardashian.
Kim and Taylor have had their share of drama over the years and so Jennifer took out her lyrical magnifying glass to give you a detailed look at what she thinks is going on.
Celebs get Swift attention
Clearly there has been a lot to take in with the announcement of Taylor’s new album but have you been keeping a list of all the celebrity references in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’?
Well, fear not. We are here to take you through some of the most notable mentions.
From Clara Bow to Charlie Puth to Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, Swift gets several mentions slipped in to her latest lyrical outpouring.
What??? Travis Kelce wants to kiss Taylor Swift but marry Katy Perry??? How could I just be finding out about this now, on this of all days.
Ah, it was a fun game from eight years ago, you say. He also said he wanted to kill Ariana Grande? Cool. As you were...
Tell me the truth. What was the first thing that popped into your head when you saw the last song on The Tortured Poets Department?
Who the hell is Clara Bow, right? Well, we set our Maite off to find out and bring you all the details. Three clue words: ‘Wings,' 'silent,' 'best'.
So Long London:
Do you remember when in her 2009 album “Lover”, Swift wrote a song called “London Boy”, a cheerful and upbeat song that was said to be about English actor Joe Alwyn.
Well, today's new announcement certainly showed us that life, both in reality and lyrically, moves on.
“So Long London”, which is a much sadder song, and seemingly a goodbye to Alwyn. Like “London Boy” was on “Lover”, “So Long London” is the fifth song on “The Tortured Poets Department”.
London is the place where Alwyn grew up and where he and Swift spent a lot of time together. Some of the lyrics to “London Boy”: “Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates” and “You can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friends.”
Jennifer delves into the change of heart shown through two songs.
More news coming in!
Just when you thought she had given you everything, Taylor keeps on giving.
“It’s a 2 am surprise: The Tortured Poets Department is a secret double album,” she posted after many fans had already hit the pillow with new tunes helping them drift off to sleep. What a fabulous surprise awaits them when their alarm clocks go off in a few hours.
Here's our Maite to bring you more on that story.
Wait, a minute! I didn't spot it before but our number-lovin' Cal had his abacus out and, sure enough, added 8 plus 7 and put two and two together.
Did you see the subtle number play on The Alchemy positioning by Taylor?
And remember ....
'All's Fair in Love & Poetry"
So there we have it .... 16 songs that compose The Tortured Poets Department on a first listen.
There are some excellent tracks with the title track, Fresh Out the Slammer, I Can Fix Him and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived being just four that really impressed upon first listen.
Only Track 13 ( I Can do it With a Broken Heart) failed to convince first time out and the overall feeling from the album is very positive but laden with personal experience and pain from a failed romance.
The songwriting is excellent, arrangement and production too are top drawer and there's much to be impressed about with TTPD.
Now, sit back and watch the album see the records tumble !
Track 16: Clara Bow
From being compared to Clara Bow, going from a small town and dreaming of the lights of Manhattan to being compared to Stevie Nicks.
A very personal (aren't they all) song dealing with Taylor's musical journey and with the line 'you look like Taylor Swift'...
the album closes with the line 'the future looks dazzling'.
A sold track to close the record.
Track 15: The Alchemy
Apparently one of the more recently composed tracks on the album and with its reference to touchdowns, benches, winning streaks, being cut from the team, could this be related to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, Taylor's latest romantic partner?
Musically, not bad but certainly not one of the better tracks on TTPD.
Track 14: The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
Another hugely personal track (Alwyn-directed again?).
A song packed full of anger and vitriol but delivered with enormous passion with a sigh at the intro paving the tone of the 14th track on TTPD.
Another collection of wonderfully crafted lyrics dealing with pain with the song delivered with sublime piano and bug string arrangements...
'You kicked out the stage lights, but you're still performing'.
Excellent ... standout track (so far) upon first listen !
Track 13: I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
An out and out dance track .... Jittery synths (a la Pet Shop Boys) lead the track and despite the upbeat nature of the song, the lyrics are tinged with sadness and, once again very personal on how Taylor soldiers on with the demands of her career despite suffering emotionally.
The track doesn't really fit with the overall feel of the record and for me is the least convincing of the 13 songs so far.
Track 12: LOML
We're in the home straight with track 12....
Big ballad time with LOML (Love of my Life) and another one that is reported to be about Alwyn.
"you said I'm the love of your life'
When Swift posted "This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up." clearly the track is very personal and an ode to failed love.
A powerful piano driven ballad....Can see this one being a hit live too....
Track 11: I Can Fix Him (Not Really I Can)
The shortest track on the record and curiously the most immediate ... a haunting guitar greets the chorus and the most evocative song on the record with it's references to six lane Texas highways.
One of the standout tracks on the album !
Track 10: Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
"If you wanted me dead, you should have just said"....
A defiant Taylor on this track... and musically one of the most interesting on the record to date.
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? screams the chorus with a 'you should be' reply ....
A rebellious and indomitable message from the singer-songwriter on another track that clocks in at more than 5 and a half minutes.
Track 9: Guilty as Sin?
A song that for some reason reminds me of much of the output by UK band Keane ... that rousing beat propelled by a piano in the chorus... 'Somewhere Only We know"....
Anyhow, we're past the halfway point at the album .... The only track that has not really hit the register is the Florence collab but I do that was a case of mega high expectations...
Guilty as Sin? a solid track with the slightest nod back to the 'country' style Taylor.
Guilty as Sin
Track 8: Florida!!!” (feat. Florence + the Machine)
Have been looking forward to this one...
Am a big admirer of Florence Welch and the sound of a collab with Taylor sounds like a match made in heaven.
'My friends all smell of weed or little babies' .... interesting ....
"Florida, is one hell of a drug" ...not sure that this track will be used by the Florida tourist department.
A track that I'll need to go back to ...Florence's backing vocals are excellent and the track features that 'big drum' sound so common on Florence and the Machine tracks... but on first listen... maybe my expectations were too high !
Track 7: Fresh Out the Slammer
A semi-acoustic track fired up with the 'now pretty baby' rousing line leading to the chorus.
Musically one of the most interesting tracks on the album so far as it dips and drops ...a real musical rollercoaster....
A track that will offer more on repeated listening ...
Another sold song ... yet to be genuinely disappointed by any of the seven tracks to date.
Track 6: But Daddy I Love Him
Clocking in at over five minutes and 40 seconds making it the longest track on TTPD.
Very Taylor-esque in the softly sung verse with a big rousing chorus style.
"Growing up precocious almost means not growing up at all".
Swift still impresses with her songwriting, on this track she's assisted by Aaron Dessner.
Track 5: So Long, London
The track opens with an angelic-style with 'So long London' on loop.
'How much sad did you think I had in me'.
Another track that (if rumours are believed to be true) possibly aimed at English actor Alwyn with references to the UK's capital city.
Another track that builds slowly with angelic style backing vocals from Taylor...
Track 4: Down Bad
The first real downtempo track on the album.
Another very personal track ..."tell me I was the chosen one and send me back for when I came from" ... "now I'm down back crying at the gym".
"Fuck it If I can't have him" ... A slow burner but a tracked packed with venom of the TS style...
"Fuck you If I can't have us".... Wow...
Track 3: My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Another track with a clear message with the track dealing with 'a destructive nature'.
A track focusing on former partner Joe Alwyn, possibly ....
Much of the record is apparently inspired by her six-year relationship with Conversations with Friends star.
Track 2: The Tortured Poets Department
"Who's going to hold you like me" is the plea for Taylor on the album's title track with Dylan Smith & Patti Smith and NYC's iconic Chelsea Hotel name dropped and wow.... what a boost Charlie Puth's career is set to get after a mention on the track.
Very personal, very intimate and very Taylor. A stunning track almost clocking in at five minutes!
Track 1: Fortnight (with Post Malone)
A hypnotic mellow synth loop runs through the track and Post Malone initially features on the track on the second verse adding backing vocals.
The track deals with neighbours who apparently had a brief affair that lasted just a fortnight.
A solid track and beautifully complemented with Post Malone but possibly a surprise choice as a lead single.
Welcome to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT.
The album is live ... let's go... first up the single Fortnight with Post Malone.
I imagine there are a few anxious executives at the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal etc. hoping that there are no glitches with the album release.
It's a long time since an new release has whipped up so much hysteria and excitement.
Taylor aiming for 14th No. 1
Should TTPD as expected reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts, Taylor Swift would extend her record for the most consecutive #1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart - she has had 13 consecutive #1s, this would be her 14th
The finish line is in sight
We're nearly there.... just over 12 minutes await before release,
Fortnight will be the first track for us to tuck into and we know now that this will be the first single to be taken from the album.
Tortured Poets: songwriters
All tracks on the album were written by Swift and Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner with the exception of the single Fortnight which saw Swift and Dessner joined by Post Malone on writing duties.
Likewise 'Florida' was composed by Swift and Florence Welch.
The countdown continues....
We're just 20 minutes away from the album release.
Just a brief explainer of the format for this live album review ....
We'll go through the album track by track and offer initial thoughts and opinions in an 'off the cuff' style review of 'Tortured Poets'.
We'll also bring you reaction from across the world as fans too share their thoughts too on the record.
A 'listening party' if you like !
TTPD advertising kicks in
Universal Music have started to crank up their global marketing to promote the album with this street advertising spotted in Milan (Italy).
Fortnight video teaser
From the five second teaser, the video to accompany the single looks pretty impressive and seems to be recorded in black and white.
The promo gets its global exclusive later today at 8pm ET.
Single confirmed
Fortnight will be the lead single from the album with the track being one of the two featuring a guest artist in rapper and actor Post Malone.
The video to accompany Fortnight will be get it's global preview at 8pm ET on 19 April.
TTPD Release formats
The album will be released in a variety of formats: a vinyl version, CD version and a cassette will all be released with all three versions featuring the bonus track ‘The Manuscript’. There will also be two limited edition vinyl versions of the album available via pre-order featuring transparent and white vinyls. A white cassette version is also set to be made available in certain markets and, once again, only available on pre-order.
US fans have four limited deluxe CD versions to choose from with each version offering a different bonus track with ‘The Albatross’, ‘The Black Dog’, ‘The Bolter’ and ‘The Manuscript’ the additional tracks.
Eras Tour resumes next month
The high grossing Eras Tour also takes to the road once again with Swift set to take to the stage once again with the European leg kicking off in Paris on 9 May before taking in the likes of Amsterdam, Warsaw, Dublin, Lisbon, Madrid before winding up in London on 20 August.
When does TTPD come out?
The album will be officially released on 19 April at 00:00 ET.
Despite this being midnight in the East Coast, for fans living in Asia, they will be well into their Friday's with listening parties and a series events planned worldwide by fans to celebrate the new record.
TTPD: Full tracklist
The Tortured Poets Department: tracklist
“Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone) (3:48)
“The Tortured Poets Department” (4:53)
“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” (3:23)
“Down Bad” (4:21)
“So Long, London” (4:22)
“But Daddy I Love Him” (5:40)
“Fresh Out the Slammer” (3:30)
“Florida!!!” (feat. Florence Welch) (3:35)
“Guilty as Sin?” (4:14)
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” (5:34)
“I Can Fix Him (Not Really I Can)” (2:36)
“LOML” (4:37)
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” (3:38)
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” (4:05)
“The Alchemy” (3:16)
“Clara Bow” (3:36)
TTPD: The Final Countdown
We're in the final stretch of the countdown towards the new album with less than an hour to go before the tracks are live.
Guest artists on ‘Tortured Poets
Guest artists are a constant for the singer-songwriter on recent studio albums with Lana del Rey and Ice Spice featuring on 2022 studio release Midnights and Swift having worked with the likes of Future, Ed Sheeran, Bon Iver and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody in the past.
The new album sees both Post Malone and Florence Welch (of Florence & the Machine fame) credited as the two guests on the record and appear on ‘Florida’ and ‘Fortnight’ respectively.
Records set to tumble....
The record has already become Spotify’s most pre-saved album Countdown Page in Spotify history and should the release top the Billboard chart (as it’s comfortably expected to), Swift would tie Jay-Z for the most number 1 albums for a solo artist on fourteen, with only The Beatles having a better strike rate with 19 number one albums.
The album is set to drop in an hour and is without doubt, is one of the most highly anticipated album release in recent time.
How will it sound? How personal are the lyrics? How will the collabs. with guest artists Post Malone and Florence Welch work out?
All will be revealed later upon TTPD release.
Hello and welcome to our live review of Taylor Swift's brand new studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.