Rate: 8.55/10
Known for her surprises and the hints she leaves leading up to them, Taylor Swift released 15 extra songs in what she called “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” two hours after the original drop date at midnight eastern time.
The 2 a.m. installment, which Swift announced via an Instagram post, mimics her moves from her last studio album, “Midnights,” with what she called the “3am tracks.” Both the TTPD and 3am tracks drops are similar to the idea of her “From the Vault” songs — extra songs from her previously recorded albums.
“TTPD: The Anthology” completes the original 16 songs, which felt happier and featured more synthetic sounds. Mixing her more acoustic sound and heavy lyricism, Swift plays with imagery, tempo and beat to perfectly complement the original LP.
The previous bonus songs, including “The Bolter,” “The Black Dog,” “The Manuscript” and “The Albatross,” are all now publicly available in “TTPD: The Anthology.”
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If “Midnights” or “1989” had a baby with “folklore” or “evermore,” it’d be the completed version of “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Songs like “Peter” and “The Manuscript” include heavy piano, much like the songs on the sister albums from 2020. “Down Bad” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” are so heavy on the synthetic — producer Jack Antonoff was all over them — that one can’t help but associate them with her latest Grammy Award winning-album.
“The Albatross” and “The Prophecy” contain heavy amounts of symbolism, especially the former. An albatross is a bird that spends its first six years in the air without landing but metaphorically encapsulates a burden or curse. It could be a nod to Swift’s relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, which was six years long.
Truly, this album is depressing. Swift continues to wrestle with her feelings about fame, her anger and, most notably, her heartbreak.
Unfortunately, all the songs somewhat sound the same, both in the original and anthology installments. There’s a good mix of up and downbeats and acoustic and synthetic sounds; for those who are fans, it works. Those who need more variation should listen to “Red” or “Speak Now.”
Fans will never know what’s next for the megastar. She’ll probably break more records and might win a 15th Grammy Award with “TTPD: The Anthology.”
