Anjali Dalal-Whelan / News Editor

In 2023 Taylor Swift’s name became impossible to avoid. Last year the artist re-recorded two albums, was named Time’s “Person of the Year,” embarked on a world tour and made countless headlines. Swift continued to take the media by storm in 2024 by announcing a new album at the Grammy’s in February. 

On April 19, Swift released her 11th studio album “The Tortured Poets Department.” The album dropped at midnight Eastern Time, with many fans waiting expectantly for the 16 new tracks to be released. However, fans were surprised with a “2 a.m. surprise” (or 11 p.m. for USD fans) when Swift announced that “The  Tortured Poets Department” was a secret double album that contained an additional 15 tracks.

USD sophomore Lily Slakeoff was shocked by the surprise 2 a.m. drop. 

“I was with my littles when we heard it was a double album, and we just screamed,” Slakeoff said. “I didn’t expect it.” 

The full double album is named “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.” It consists of 31 songs and runs over two hours long. The album was produced by Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff who both share songwriting credits with Swift on multiple tracks. Swift and Antonoff have worked together since Swift’s fifth album “1989.” Unsurprisingly, many songs on “The Tortured Poets Department” are sonically similar to those Swift and Antonoff have previously worked on together. 

USD sophomore Maya Merchant shared her views on Swift and Antonoff’s partnership. 

“One thing I’ve heard a lot of people talk about is that she needs to cut ties with Jack Antonoff, and she needs to explore some other production sounds before it all starts sounding the exact same,” Merchant said. “I don’t know if she needs to cut ties… it all starts sort of sounding similar or is written in very similar ways, and it’s all being released at the same time… you got to at least make sure that there’s quite a bit of variability for your audience.”

The lyrics from “The Tortured Poets Department” appear to be deeply personal. From the second line of the first song, “I was a functioning alcoholic / Till nobody noticed my new aesthetic,” to a line in the last track, “he said that if the sex was half as good as the / conversation was / soon they’d be pushin’ strollers,” Swift poured her melancholy and emotions into the album. 

The album opener and first single “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” is a slow duet with a steady beat. The chorus contains the line “I love you, it’s ruining my life,” which was used in promotion for the album and exemplified the theme of heartbreak throughout the album. Post Malone fans were disappointed to hear that the artist did not receive his own verse on the track.  

Florence + The Machine is the only other artist featured on the album. Track eight, “Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)” is a narrative song, reminiscent of “no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)” on Swift’s ninth album “Evermore.” The upbeat and catchy song tells the story of two characters who escape their respective problems by moving to Florida. 

Swift’s relationships have been heavily featured in the media. Many fans believe that “The Tortured Poets Department” alludes to the three relationships that Swift has been publically seen in within the past two years. 

Swift’s breakup with English actor Joe Alwyn, her long-term boyfriend of six years, was reported in April 2023 and seems to be heavily mentioned through the album. The relationship is most directly referenced in the fifth track “So Long, London,” which contrasts the song “London Boy” on Swift’s seventh album “Lover.” 

Track 13, “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart” combines both the depressing lyrics and catchy pop that Swift is known for.  Swift sings, “all the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, ‘more’.” The upbeat but heartbreaking track reveals the pain that Swift struggled through, while simultaneously performing her record-breaking “Eras Tour” and dealing with a breakup. After Swift and Alywn’s breakup, Swift was seen publicly dating Matty Healy, the lead singer of the band The 1975. Many fans also believe that Healy is referenced in breakup songs throughout the album. 

Despite the mainly melancholy tone of the album, “The Tortured Poets Department” does feature some love songs. Swift’s relationship with The Chiefs’ quarterback Travis Kelce grabbed the attention of Swifties and football fans alike. Track 15, “The Alchemy” is full of sports references: “trying to be the greatest in the league, where’s the trophy, he just comes running over to me,” which nods to Swift’s appearances at Kelce’s NFL games. Another love song, track 22, “So High School” has the tone and sound of Taylor Swift’s signature all-American love songs.

While love and breakups are heavily featured in the album, many other themes arise across “The Tortured Poets Department.” True to the name, the album is ripe with literary references. Track 27, “Cassandra,” is a slow melodic song that references the Greek myth of Cassandra, the Trojan priestess who prophesied the fall of Troy, but was not believed. Track 23, “I Hate it Here,” mentions escaping to a secret garden, a reference to the 1911 book “The Secret Garden.”  

Along with literary references, “The Tortured Poets Department” contains many pop references and name drops. Track two, the album’s title track, names Patti Smith, a 1970s singer-songwriter, and Dylan Thomas, an early 1900s poet. This track also name-drops singer Charlie Puth. In total, the album contains six songs with names as the titles, (“Robin,” “Peter,” “Cassandra,” “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus,” “thanK you alMee” and “Clara Bow.”) On social media, many fans have theories about who these names refer to.

Although usually eloquent, Swift has some lines in “The Tortured Poets Department,” that feel awkward and out of place. Track 23 “I Hate it Here” contains the line “We would pick a decade / We wished we could live in instead of this / I’d say the 1830s, but without all the racists  / and getting married off for the highest bid / Everyone would look down ‘cause it wasn’t fun now / Seems like it was never even fun back then / Nostalgia is a mind’s trick.” The lines not only sounds clumsy but has also faced backlash over its perceived insensitivity. 

Merchant shared her views on the controversial lyric. 

“I’ve never found Taylor Swift to be all that racially progressive or progressive around gender either. So I think it’s a little bit unique,” Merchant said. “It just comes off in such an odd way. It doesn’t land in the way I think she wants it to land.” 

While some fans have expressed disappointment with specific songs or lyrics, Swift’s enthusiastic fan base made the album an instant success. On the first day of the album’s release, Swift became the most streamed artist in a single day on Spotify. On X, Spotify said that  “The Tortured Poets Department” was streamed on Spotify a record 300 million times on April 19.

Taylor Swift surprised fans by releasing an additional 15 tracks, two hours after her album was released. Photo courtesy of @taylorswift/Instagram