by | Salma Cano
Staff Reporter
I don’t lose sleep over many things, but when Taylor Swift drops a new album, I’m prepared to skip sleep to dissect each new song, and let the midnights become my afternoons. When listening to the album the minute it came out, I was blown away by how great the sixteen tracks were already, just to be even more shocked by her releasing a second part, including fifteen additional tracks.
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (The Anthology) is finally here. After staying up for the release, Swift broke her own record for the amount of streams an album has gotten in a single day, with a whopping 300 million streams. This new era, being what feels like a combination of Folklore, Reputation, and Midnights, is still so new, but going into this, Swifties knew the people who most of these songs would be about, such as her former boyfriends Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, and current boyfriend Travis Kelce. Through her lyrics and decoded easter eggs, we see all the frustration, heartbreak, and happiness that Swift has experienced since the release of Midnights.
Starting off, I already want to make it clear that this is one of, if not the best album that Swift has ever released, and that is saying a lot since this is her eleventh album, going strong. There are countless amazing bops and ballads, but if I were forced to pick a favorite, it would be the track So Long, London. This is a heartbreaking ballad that I had been anticipating since the track list had been released, since I had the initial suspicion that this song would be about Joe Alwyn, the Brit whom Swift was in a relationship with for six years, before they parted their separate ways. With the lyrics “For so long, London/Had a good run/A moment of warm sun/But I’m not the one”, it is evident that this wasn’t just any heartbreak experienced by the songwriter, despite that fact that in track 13, we learn about her ability to “do it with a broken heart”.
Then, the most streamed song is none other than the first single Fortnight (Feat. Post Malone). Though Swift hasn’t always chosen the best song from her albums to drop as a single in the past, I think this was a wise choice. This track is very catchy in a way that I’m more focused on the lyrics rather than the rhythm when listening to it. It has a strong storytelling aspect that conveys the emotions one goes through after a short-term relationship, feeling like things ended too soon after it started between two lovers.
A track that though I admire, isn’t my favorite, is I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can). First off, it seemed like there was no big climax where the melody takes off, and no part of the song feels catchy enough to remember super well. Secondly, it was just not a relatable track for me. I must admit, I found the delusional perspective of feeling like one can mend a person that they are in a relationship with a bit annoying. The love interest that Swift sings about in this song has a bad reputation, and seems to be the type of person most would think may be a bad for her to associate with romantically, and in this case, most people would include myself.
The least streamed track was then Robin. I can understand why this one may not be everyone’s favorite with the slow tempo, and it being the second to last track in this long 31 track album. However, I hold this song close to my heart due to the emotional lyricism in which Swift is talking to her younger self, admiring her own innocence she had as a young child. Now this is a track that I find relatable, and though there isn’t as many easter eggs intertwined within this story as she is known to to with some of her other songs, the style and simplicity of this song is a big reason for why I appreciate it.
On the whole, this album has absolutely amazed me straight from the release. Despite having nearly 300 songs throughout her discography, Swift has still found a way to keep things fresh and change up the style of this new record in a way that would still be appealing to her extensive fanbase. It is evident that she has mastered her art as a songwriter, and her songs are only getting better. I give this album a 5 out of 5 stars.
