Reflections on The Tortured Poets Department

It’s kind of a mess and I blame the Eras Tour

Taylor Swift’s 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, can best be described as ”patchy” in both sound and quality. My theory is that her “Eras Tour” is partially to blame. 

In addition to re-recording most of her old albums, Taylor has spent the last year on her “Eras Tour,” a three-hour stadium show where she sings the biggest songs from each of her 10 previous albums. Since Taylor has reinvited her sound numerous times in her nearly 20-year career, each of her albums is associated with a distinct sound and aesthetic (or “era”). This means she’s spent the last couple years rehearsing and performing her own discography. Listening to The Tortured Poets Department, you can hear the effects of this: many of the tracks sound like they could have belonged on one of her previous albums. The result is that this album lacks cohesion. All of the songs on the album are recognizable as a Taylor song, but they all sound like different eras of Taylor. 

Another place to put blame for the “patchiness” is on streaming services, which disincentivize listeners (and some artists) from thinking about albums as a single body of work. This album is not even designed to be listened to in its entirety (trust me, I tried). For one thing, it’s unbelievably long — 31 tracks and more than two hours of music. But it’s not just the length. For every good song on the album (and there are several songs I thought were interesting, or beautiful, or sharp, or fun), there is at least one song that is, well, kind of a dud.  

It was pretty much only through sheer grit and determination that I listened to the entirety of The Tortured Poets Department and provided my thoughts, however brief, on each song. Though there are some songs I really liked, there are many songs I struggled to find something to say about, especially in the last half. What do you think of the album? How many tracks did you make it through before you shut it off and said, “No more!” Sound off in the comments! 

1. Fortnight 

As an opening song, it’s a little underwhelming. But I like the lush production, with the layers of vocals and harmonies, synths and funky bass lines. The lines “What about your quiet treason?” and “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary,” are interesting and fresh for a breakup song. But who uses the phrase fortnight?! I would have workshopped that lyric. 

2. The Tortured Poets Department 

This song feels a little bit like a return to form in terms of storytelling. It has some great images, a couple memorable lines, (“You're in self-sabotage mode/Throwing spikes down on the road/But I’ve seen this episode and still loved the show” is a stand-out for me), and a catchy melody. The reference to Patti Smith/Dylan Thomas/the Chelsea Hotel feels a little shallow, since it’s not referenced throughout the lyrics, but in general I like the songwriting on this. Except for the themes, which feel a little more grown up, and the production, which is more contemporary, I think this song would have been at home on her albums Red (2012) or1989 (2014). 

Side note: Can someone please explain the Charlie Puth reference to me? Am I missing something? 

3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys 

I like the lyrics and the storytelling on this one but musically I don’t think it holds up. There’s nothing catchy or singable about the melody. The lush and layered production makes it more interesting. 

4. Down Bad 

Down Bad is a real clunker of a lyric, IMO. But the chorus is catchy and fun to sing, and I think this will be one of the radio singles from this album. This song feels like it would have fit pretty well on Reputation (2017). 

One detail I liked on this song is the juxtaposition of the last line of each verse, “For a moment I knew cosmic love,” and “For a moment I was heaven-struck,” with the first line of the chorus, “Now I’m down bad crying at the gym.” She goes from something ethereal and lovely (both musically and lyrically), to something monotonous and painful.

5. So Long, London 

This Lana Del-Ray-inspired sound is my least favorite sound for Taylor. I love Lana! Taylor is not Lana! I just don’t think this works for her. There’s nothing memorable about this song to me.

6. But Daddy I Love Him 

I like when Taylor gets a little closer to her country roots. The lines “But, Daddy, I love him/I'm having his baby/No, I'm not/But you should see your faces” made me laugh, and I think she’s in on the joke, too. I also think this song would have worked well on 1989. 

7. Fresh Out the Slammer 

I think the imagery in some of these lyrics is strong, but it’s hard to take Taylor seriously when she says she’s “fresh out the slammer.” The chorus of this song is deceptively catchy. I really like when Taylor sings in her lower register, as she does here – it’s a really distinctive part of her voice. But there’s this weird Lana thing happening in the chorus! Stop that! 

8. Florida!!! (feat. Florence & the Machine) 

I visited my grandmother in Florida last fall and “one hell of a drug” is the last phrase I would have used to describe the state. I don’t know where Taylor is going in Florida, but it’s certainly nowhere I’ve been. I love Florence and think she’s a really cool collab for Taylor, but unfortunately nothing about this song works for me. 

9. Guilty as Sin 

I think my Taylor bias is starting to show, which is that I like Taylor’s country sound best. None of these lyrics stand out to me, and overall this song is kind of boring, but the melody is catchy. 

10. Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? 

I’m a little torn on this one. I don’t really like it musically; I think the production should have punched it up a bit more. Thematically it reminds me a little of her song “Anti-Hero” — about superstardom and her relationships with fellow pop stars, fans and critics. I’m glad she’s not shying away from writing about that because it’s a really interesting window into her life. 

There are also some memorable lyrics on this one, like “I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street;” and, “Put narcotics into all of my songs/and that’s why you’re still singing along.” It sounds like it would have fit on her albums Lover (2019) or Midnights (2022). 

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) 

This is another Lana-style song – the really low, whispery, sexy vocals; the dark, tortured love affair lyrics and the heavy instrumentation. The narcotics Taylor sprinkled into this one are working on me, because I’ve been singing along to it in my head despite not really liking it on the first couple listens. 

12. loml 

Loml (which stands for “love of my life,” in case my mom is reading this) is a pretty breakup song with some poetic lyrics. The melody feels really familiar, a little bit like “Fifteen” off of Taylor Swift (2008). If I was going through a breakup I could see myself listening to this song while having a good cry. There’s nothing that really stands out to me on this song though. 

13. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart

This song works for me! It feels like a solid electro-pop song. I especially love the chorus, where she pairs a twinkly synth, a catchy and singable melody, and some dark-and-relatable-so-they’re-now-kind-of-funny lyrics, “I’m so depressed I act like it’s my birthday everyday/I’m so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague.” I do think “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it’s an art” could have used a punch-up. This song is giving her Reputation (2017) era. 

Similar to “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” I like when Taylor writes about being a megastar. She takes this experience that is so unique, and almost certainly isolating for her, and creates this chorus that I think a lot of people can relate to – this idea of smiling and keeping on even when you don’t want to. The lyric “All the pieces of me shattered while the crowd was shouting more” is another stand-out line. 

14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived 

The lyrics on this hit pretty hard, I would hate to be whoever this is written about (Matty Healy?). Musically I can’t say this song does it for me. The melody isn’t very memorable and neither is the production. 

15. The Alchemy 

Lyrically she’s doing way too much in this song. She’s mixing so many metaphors and I’m lost! Most of the lyrics are either related to chemistry and chemicals (white wine, heroin(e), alchemy), or a word jumble of football terms (comeback, league, touchdown and trophy are just the shortlist). Musically this song is pretty sparse, but the chorus is singable so I could see it becoming something of a hit from this album. 

16. Clara Bow

This song is pretty underwhelming. There’s nothing I strongly dislike about it but also nothing that stands out to me. 

17. The Black Dog

Okay this is interesting! The beginning sounds like a typical breakup ballad, but gets some teeth in the chorus when she sings “old habits die screaming.” I like the double-meaning of “you forgot to turn it off” for both the ex-lover’s location and the singers’ heart. Dare I say there’s some boygenius/Phoebe Bridgers influence on this one?

18. imgonnagetyouback

The chorus is a real earworm and the lyrics are pretty fun, like “We broke all the pieces but still wanna play the game,” and “Pick your poison babe, I’m poison either way.” The bridge, which comes in at about 2 minutes 30 seconds, has some nice movement to it. Honestly my biggest complaint with this song is the production – I feel like it’s too understated! It could have been more of a bop, and it might have hit the mark a bit more. But overall I like this one. 

On a side note, “Whether I’m gonna be your wife/Or gonna fuck up your life” feels like an obvious punch-up for the lyrics of the final chorus. 

19. Albatross 

This song almost immediately annoyed me. I find the melody a little stilted, a little awkward. I really don’t want to listen to this one more than once so this is all I can say about it (lol). 

20. Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus 

The title is a little off-putting but I actually don’t hate this song. The melody is pretty, the lyrics flow nicely, nothing sticks out as weird or clunky. The instrumentation on it is nice. I like the folky, almost mediaeval sounding piano and guitar riffs — four notes played up and down like a palindrome. It sounds like it would have fit nicely on folklore (2020) or evermore (2020).

21. How Did It End? 

Like “Albatross,” the melody on this song feels stilted. Some of the lyrics are sharp: I like the reference to conducting a post mortem on the broken relationship in the opening line. But overall this song doesn’t work for me. This one also could have fit on evermore, but in a way I don’t like.  

22. So High School 

This song sounds and feels a little high school? A little awkward. A little annoying to listen to. It sounds like some of her early music, but with the addition of the Lana-style bridge/outro (which I don’t totally hate, btw). The lyrics “you know how to ball/I know Aristotle” made me chuckle but this time I’m not sure she’s in on the joke. 

23. I Hate It Here

The most notable thing about this song is the already infamous lyric about wanting to live in the 1830s “but without all the racists.” I could only listen to this song once and was honestly relieved when it ended. This is the point on the album where I’m starting to ask myself, “Why am I doing this?!?!” I am also starting to hate it here. 

24. thanK you aIMee

Okay so apparently this song is about her feud with Kim Kardashian (thus the weird capitalization in the title – the capital letters spell “KIM”). Taylor’s songs about stunting on her bullies are getting kind of tired. And I am getting tired of listening to this album!

25. I Look in People’s Windows 

All the songs are starting to sound the same! The lyrics on this song are weird but at least they’re kind of interesting? “I Look in People’s Windows” sounds like a vault track from her evermore era that maybe should have stayed in the vault. 

26. The Prophecy 

Another evermore vault track, with the folksy/twinkly sound and the spooky fairy tale theme. I find the lyrics a little clunky, but they’re not the worst. There’s nothing remarkable about this song, but I don’t think it’s horrible either. 

27. Cassandra 

I’m having a hard time following the lyrics on this one, and the melody is pretty forgettable. I could have done without this song. 

28. Peter 

I am coming to terms with the fact that this album is simply not meant to be listened to all of the way through. But I have come this far and much like Taylor in “thanK you aIMee” I will continue to push each boulder of a song up the hill of this write-up.  

29. The Bolter

Maybe it’s a bit of Stockholm syndrome but this one is okay?! At least I can follow the story of the lyrics, and the melody is a little more catchy and memorable.  

30. Robin 

I’m not sure what to say about this one. I guess it’s pretty? It sounds like it could be about her little brother, or herself as a kid, which is sweet. But also, it’s slow and kind of boring. 

31. The Manuscript 

The final song!! Unfortunately it sounds a lot like “Robin,” and “The Bolter,” and the last 10 songs before those. I don’t have a lot to say about it. I guess thematically it could be the sequel to her hit song “All Too Well,” so that’s kind of interesting. It’s not terrible, but it’s kind of… non-descript.