It’s been 75 days since Taylor Swift announced the existence of her 11th studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, after winning her 13th Grammy back in February, and now the eagerly anticipated LP is finally here. The 16-track (not counting bonus cuts found on the various physical releases) collection marks Taylor’s first new album since 2022’s Midnights, though she dropped re-recorded versions of Speak Now and 1989 in 2023.
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT features two guests: Post Malone (who also appears on Beyoncé’s recent triumph COWBOY CARTER) and Florence + the Machine. The album’s title may be a reference to Swift’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who was once part of a group chat called “The Tortured Man Club.” In any event, the album is very personal to Taylor, as she discussed during an Australian stop of her ongoing Eras Tour.
“It was really a lifeline for me, just the things I was going through, the things I was writing about,” Taylor said of the album, which has been in the works for roughly two years. “It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that, like, actually gets me through my life.”
Taylor must’ve really been on a songwriting roll, because at 2AM on release day, she surprised fans by dropping 15 additional tracks. Together with the previous 16, they make up THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY.
