The Tortured Poets Department
Taylor Swift releases big heartbreak double album
Taylor Swift believes “our tears become sacred in the form of ink on a page.” photo
© Chris Pizzello/AP/dpa
Superstar Taylor Swift’s hotly anticipated new work is all about heartbreak and is dominated by keyboard-heavy retro soft pop. That night, Swift presented a surprise.
Lovesickness is the big theme of the new album Taylor Swift, which the superstar has now released. Musically, the 34-year-old, who once again worked closely with the American musician Jack Antonoff on “The Tortured Poets Department”, is breaking new ground. Swift’s eleventh studio album is characterized by melancholic, keyboard-heavy retro soft pop.
Two hours after Swift released the first version of the new album with 16 songs that night, there was a surprise: the musician released another version with the addition of “The Anthology” and additional tracks, 31 in total. Swift wrote that “The Tortured Poets Department” was a double album.
Speaking about the album’s themes, Swift wrote on Instagram: “This author strongly believes that our tears become sacred in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can free ourselves from it. And then all that’s left is nor the tortured poetry back.”
Alwyn and Healy
Even before publication, fans had suspected that Swift could be referring to her ex-partner Joe Alwyn in the lyrics, with whom she was together for a few years until 2023. On Friday, some also brought up British musician Matty Healy, who Swift was rumored to have briefly dated in 2023.
In the title track “The Tortured Poets Department” the narrator sings about an ex-lover with whom she went through a short, intense phase. She describes him as a “tattooed golden retriever” who smokes – fans recognized this as Healy, the singer of the band The 1975.