Taylor Swift 'The Tortured Poets Department' review: Is the album worth the wait?

On February 4th, 2024, Taylor Swift shocked us all at the Grammy's while accepting the Best Pop Vocal Album award. Swifties had suspected we would get news on the Taylor's Version of Reputation. Instead, we got the news of a new album, releasing on April 19th. Well, we're finally here, and we have the release. The Tortured Poets Department and everything you should know about the new album and how it ranks against her others. 

The album spans sixteen tracks, starting with "Fortnight", the first single featuring Post Malone. Song number two is "The Tortured Poets Department", which encompasses that old sound and style along with Taylor's new style. I am only two tracks deep into this album, but I'm calling it now. This is the best song on the album. I'm excited to keep going.

"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys," "Down Bad", and "So Long, London" follow in the tracklisting. Then "But Daddy I Love Him" plays, and I wonder if I called the favorite too soon. It's close.

Is Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, any good?

"Fresh Out The Slammer" and "Florida!!!," featuring Florence Welch from Florence + the Machine, follow next. Another one I'm digging is "Guilty As Sin?" could this one take the top spot? "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" and "I Can Fix Hime (No Really I Can)" tracks ten and eleven.

Track twelve: I love that we hit a piano ballad-type song with "Loml." This joins the top track list for the album.

Track thirteen, we're right back up to speed with "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart," a catchy, quick song that grabs a top five on the record.

We slow it right back down with the next track, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" and "The Alchemy." The album's last track is "Clara Bow," the perfect choice for wrapping up this album, a great closer. 

At first listen, I had the initial reaction that I did with the Reputation album. These songs hit right away without the need for singles to excite the album preview or become hits before the album. The Tortured Poets Department record has to rank in the top five right out of the gate. The pop era perfectly meets the slower type of music, perfecting Taylor's newer style, and this record most likely piles up the awards for an already highly successful artist, Taylor Swift.  

So, for the new album, this record gets a generous 8.8 rating on a ten scale. I can see myself being hooked on this as the days pass with even more listens. To give the lyrics more time to be understood more, and the songs to grab ahold of me just a little more.

During her surprise announcement for this record, Taylor mentioned that she had kept this one a secret for two years. To sum it all up, this album was worth the wait. It's the new Taylor Swift song day! Find your new favorite songs! 

More music news and analysis