Taylor Swift has continued to keep up her record-breaking reputation with the release of her 11th studio album titled “The Tortured Poets Department.” It came out on April 19, 2024 and consists of 15 tracks (the regular version, anyway). Swift released a 2 a.m. surprise mere hours after “TTPD” came out: a double album. Titled “The Anthology” edition, it came with 16 brand new tracks, making the total track count 31!
On the first day of release, it surpassed 300 million streams, breaking a Spotify record –which comes as no surprise, as the singer has seemingly broken a new record with each album release. In the first week alone, it hit over a billion streams, yet another record for the Spotify history books.
The album itself has a new sound, but it showcases Swift’s already-established very natural, poetic style of story-telling. She tells a different story of her life through each song: “So High School” describes how Swift feels with her Super Bowl super-star boyfriend Travis Kelce; “So Long, London” is a heartbreaking ballad of recollection and a final farewell to her long-term relationship with Joe Alwyn; “thanK you aIMee” is a hit at Kim Kardashian, who was infamously involved in drama with the singer in 2016.
The album as a whole describes the singer’s complex experiences with love, loss, and lessons learned along the way, and, in my opinion, is similar to “Red.” Both albums not only deal with the gut-wrenching sides of heartbreak, but the much-needed lessons learned from them, and eventually, being able to love again: “I died on the altar waiting for the proof / You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days / And I’m just getting color back into my face.”
All Taylor Swift fans and music lovers must listen to this incredible album.
