The Tortured Poets Department

Taylor Swift has the attention of the world. Her Eras tour is breaking attendance records everywhere. Her albums, even those she re-records and re-releases, shoot to the top of the charts. Fans, known as Swifties, scour the album liner notes and lyrics for clues for what is coming next. Yet Swift continues to surprise her fans.

She works extremely hard, seemingly writing and recording music in every spare minute. So when fans were expecting the announcement of the re-release of another old album, she instead announced an album of new material, The Tortured Poet’s Department. Within a few hours of its release, she surprised fans by adding an hour of new music, making it a double album.

All that hype wouldn’t amount to much if the music itself wasn’t very good. But, once again, it is. Over two hours, Swift sings about romance, betrayal, and heartbreak. In “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” she even sings about being productive while she cries. What connects Swift to her fans is that she channels her feelings—and theirs—through her music in a way that is plain-spoken and eloquent.

While there are definite through-lines from her first album to this, her 11th, she has managed to grow and change her musical style from album to album. The Tortured Poets Department might not be the best place to start to figure out what all the hype is about, but it is another excellent step in Swift’s growth as an artist. (Republic Records)