Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Review

By Rob Hinkal

Taylor Swift’s latest, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, will no doubt be a treat for die-hard Swifties, but for the passing fan, it’s more of a slog. A two-hour compilation of what feels like the same song over and over again, Poets Department is, unfortunately, the most boring of her recent releases. It embraces the same stylistic choices that have yielded fantastic results on albums such as Folklore and Evermore, but here, stretched across the span of two hours, the excitement and passion felt on the previous releases are all but lost, and the listener is instead left with a dry, dull, and incredibly bland listening experience. That isn’t to say that the album is poorly produced though. Swift and collaborators Jack Antanoff and Aaron Dresner have once again re-teamed to produce the album, and sadly while the influence of the two additional producers is still there, it just feels muddled and underwhelming when compared to their previous efforts. The album lacks the energy and focus of her previous works, and can’t seem to quite find that particular groove within its meandering two-hour runtime.

When the best parts of an album are when Taylor embraces vocal styles resembling her contemporaries (Lana Del Rey is the first to come to mind in this instance), it says a great deal about the overall quality of the album. Sadly, unless you are a born-again Swiftie, you can feel free to skip paying a visit to The Tortured Poets Department.