Meg Strate

An overrated, forgettable album that demonstrates Taylor is more interested in churning out as much content as possible than creating art. The Tortured Poet’s Department was clearly written with the app TikTok in mind. Taylor overuses TikTok colloquialisms ( “golden retriever” boyfriend, “down bad”, “I hate it here”) which inevitably reinforces her status as an out-of-touch millennial and billionaire. Additionally, countless lyrics are the album are designed to be lip-synced to by overexcited Swifties on the app (“I cry a lot but I am so productive”). Her songwriting on this album is truly, painfully bad, which is astonishing for an artist who has won Album of the Year 4 times. I wish Taylor could properly devote her time to either her re-records, new music, or her tour, which all seem to be happening at the same time. While I was initially a fan of her re-recording her music, I believe that both Midnights and The Tortured Poet’s Department have suffered as a result of so much music being recorded all at once. Listening to tracks on the 3am version of Midnights and the Anthology version of TTPD quickly started to feel like a chore. Many artists are very selective with the music they put out, even refusing to release leaked tracks which have become fan-favorites. However, Taylor seems to have decided that because her fans will gladly listen to anything she features on, she should release every song she’s ever written. It is exhausting and strikes me as seeking to feed the more rabid Swifties who care less about the music itself and more about the Easter eggs she sprinkles throughout. I hope she can take a much-needed break soon, and learn from the critical reviews this album is receiving.