The prolific “social celebrity” Taylor Swift returns to the major recording league with her album The tortured poets department (Universal), released today, Friday, which more than meets the enormous expectations raised. In fact, little was known about her content since she briefly announced the news last February at the Grammy Awards, revealing that this year she was going to release a new album with the title confirmed today. Then details of the brand new album – already known also by its initials, TTPD – became known, such as two musical collaborations with the rapper Post Malone and Florence The Machine or the one in which he would work sonically side by side with his usual collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dressner.
Ah! And the not insignificant detail that instead of the sixteen compositions that were going to constitute its content, it is actually a double album with many more pieces that give life to the one called The tortured poets department: The anthology. Swift herself broke the news a few hours ago on her social media: “Surprise at two in the morning: The tortured poets department is a secret double album. I had written a lot of tortured poetry in the last two years and I wanted to share it all with you, so here is the second installment of TTPD: The anthology. 15 additional songs. And now the story is no longer mine… it is all yours.”
Sonically, the album does not move away from its current coordinates, a synth pop already inseparable from it and in which the hand of the aforementioned Jack Antonoff – member of the group Bleachers – has a lot to do with it. There are hardly any hints of the country of his younger years (But Daddy, I love him! and little else) and on the other hand there is a recognizable commitment to some rock flash… which in fact is nothing more than the reflection of his muscular and massive live concerts. Thematically and textually, however, the protagonism of the American vocalist is absolute, and as she had anticipated, these are lyrics of a therapeutic and liberating nature, in which she mentions her zigzagging and intense private and sentimental life. . Thus, it is not difficult to find abundant clues and references (be careful, she does not hide them either but shares them) of her six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, such as in the song So long, London or in Tortured man club, in where the music blurts out to its interlocutor (Alwyn was also skilled and brilliant in writing) “you are not Dylan Thomas and I am not Patti Smith.” There are also allusions to her almost fleeting affair with the musician Matty Healy, or to her current and highly publicized relationship with the American football player Travis Kelce, referred to in the song The Alchemy, with the Super Bowl kiss included.
As can be seen, the work exudes an overflowing sincerity and “confessional degree”, which does not motivate rejection at all because the listener is warned and – for the most part – eager to discover. In any case, Taylor Swift’s ability as a lyrical composer is outstanding, and that dramatic tone that permeates most of the lyrics is one of the indisputable assets of The tortured poets department. Examples abound, such as the sarcastic and overwhelmingly spiteful The smallest man who ever lived, where she concludes with “I will forget you but I will never forgive you. The smallest man who ever lived”, or in the hyper-sad Loml with voice and piano. At the other extreme, the listener can also have a good time with Florida!!!, his splendid collaboration with Florence The Machine (and with Emma Stone on the backing vocals)… where they sing together what it’s like to hit the bottom. to, from there, resume the flight. And as a tribute, and closing the album’s repertoire, Clara Bow cannot be overlooked, in memory of the combative American silent film actress of the 1920s: “You are the new goddess we worship and who promises to dazzle. “Beauty is a beast that roars on all fours, demanding more.” Total identification.
The forecasts, as mentioned, have fallen short of the new work (her eleventh album) by the 34-year-old musician and singer from Pennsylvania. A creator, by the way, who has proven to be extremely productive artistically speaking in recent times: in October 2022 she released Midnights, with extraordinary critical and sales success, and the following year she released two albums in re-recorded format as Speak now (Taylor’s version) and 1989 (Taylor’s version). And as the icing on the cake, now it’s about seeing live how he is going to incorporate it into the repertoire of his imminent Eras Tour 2024 (it starts on May 9 in Paris, and his only Spanish performance will be in Madrid on the 30th). of the same month) the abundant new compositions. Looking at the record, there is no doubt that it will be a success.
