Taylor Swift is one of the most successful music artists in the history of the music industry. But while I admire her success from an economic standpoint, her latest album doesn’t represent that same type of achievement.

To put it more frankly, it is incredibly lacklustre and downright average. Which puts into question how she is still able to achieve so much by producing so little? The insane fandom and attention she has received is a whole other ball game when it comes to understanding the psychology of a group of fans who are insanely obsessed with her, but that’s a whole other study in itself and one that I won’t go into here. Suffice it to say, the world of swifties is a world that makes me fear for humanity.

But I do want to discuss the musical side of things and give you my real-time listening feedback, thoughts, and opinions on this latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. From a musical point of view, it does not make sense why she is receiving so much hype and praise for music that just does not sound any good.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Taylor Swift doesn’t have any talent, and for what it’s worth if you like her new music, then that’s fine by me. But in my view, her new songs are a far cry from that once youthful country singer who had so much to say with genuine soulful country music that sounded both melodic and invigorating until she evolved into this money-making machine of a pop princess with music that feels boring and uninspiring and devoid of anything interesting.

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What is The Tortured Poets Department?

The Tortured Poets Department is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner, and released on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records. Swift announced the album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for her preceding work, Midnights (2022). The Tortured Poets Department was expanded into a double album upon release, subtitled The Anthology, featuring a surprise second volume of songs.

Swift conceived The Tortured Poets Department shortly after finishing work on Midnights and continued developing it during the Eras Tour (2023–2024), her ongoing sixth concert tour. She described The Tortured Poets Department as her "lifeline" album, conceived as a culmination of her imperative songwriting. It contains 31 songs across its two volumes, with the American rapper Post Malone featuring on the opening track and lead single, "Fortnight", and the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine on the track "Florida!!!".

A minimalist synth-pop and folk-pop effort with rock and country stylings, The Tortured Poets Department consists of largely midtempo songs driven by synthesizers and drum machines alongside organic instruments such as piano and guitar. Its subject matter focuses on Swift's psyche, exploring her outlook on her public and private lives using introspective storytelling. The lyrical content is characterized by themes of sorrow, self-awareness, melodrama, and humor. The album polarized critics: most reviews were positive and praised Swift's cathartic songwriting for its emotional resonance and wit, while the rest suggested a lack of lyrical profundity; some critics described the album's production as tasteful, while others found it uninventive.

Commercially, The Tortured Poets Department broke a string of records globally and topped the official charts in 13 countries. It gained the highest single-day streams for an album on the streaming platform Spotify. In the United States, the album sold 2.6 million album-equivalent units in its first week, the biggest sales week of her career and her record-extending seventh release to open with over a million units in the country. The Tortured Poets Department also became the fastest-selling album of the 2020s decade in the United Kingdom, and the first album to monopolize the top 10 positions of Australia's ARIA Singles Chart.

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