RAMROD 102,043 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22  In standard and extended editions, Taylor Swiftâs 11th studio album races to fill the gap between her intimate songwriting and her increasingly outsized persona. Itâs unruly, unedited, and even a little tortured.  The Tortured Poets Department, Swiftâs 11th studio album, senses that widening gap between Taylor Swift the artist and Taylor Swift the phenomenon, and wants to fill it with a firehose of material. The burden of expectation is substantial: This is Swiftâs first body of new work since the end of a years-long relationship and a pair of high-profile, whirlwind romancesâone of which, with the 1975âs Matty Healy, appears to have provided much of the inspiration here. Fans came to Tortured Poetsseeking emotional catharsis, or at least the salacious details. Swift, it seems, wanted the comfort of familiarity. Returning to Jack Antonoff and the Nationalâs Aaron Dessner, her primary songwriting and producing partners of the last several years, Swift picks up threads from Folk-more and Midnights without quite pulling anything loose. Tortured Poetsâ extended Anthology edition runs over two hours, and even in the abridged version, its sense of sprawl creeps down to the song level, where Swiftâs writing is, at best, playfully unbridled and, at worst, conspicuously wanting for an editor. The winking title trackâa joke about its subjectsâ self-seriousnessâmakes fun of the performance of creative labor, which is funny, given the show that Swift is putting on herself. She piles the metaphors on thick, throws stuff at the wall even after something has stuck, picks up the things that didnât stick and uses them anyway. There is a clear emphasis here on vulnerability; itâs an effort to rub some of the varnish off of Taylor Swift the commercial product and focus on Taylor Swift the tender, unlucky romantic with whom we fell in love so many years ago. No matter her stature, Swift can still reach the everywoman. She is versed in memespeak: âDown Badâ works because of the juxtaposition between its banal hook and its description of âcosmic loveâ; the corporate girlies will go feral for âI cry a lot but I am so productiveâ (âI Can Do It With a Broken Heartâ). I can even get on board with the outlaw machinations of âI Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),â if mostly for the lyrical backflip of its chorus: âThey shook their heads saying, âGod help herâ when I told âem heâs my man/But your good Lord didnât need to lift a finger/I can fix him, no really I can.â If Swift believes that output for its own sake is what she has to offer, she underestimates her gift. Listeners who believe that her every ounce of experience is inherently interestingâbecause she was the one to have itâmisunderstand her as well. Taylor Swift doesnât need a whole album to tell the story of a relationship; she only needs one song, sometimes even one line. She almost has it in Tortured Poetsâ title track, with the tossed-off brilliance of âWeâre modern idiots.â Sheâs nearly there with the vignette, which needs a bit more burnishing, about her man slipping a ring from her middle to her eager left ring finger at dinner. You can see what sheâs chasing here: the moment in time that triggers a flash of feeling that lasts foreverâthe sort of thing people call Swiftian. Weâve been students of Swiftâs poetry for years. The lesson of The Tortured Poets Department is not to push through the painâitâs to take the time to process it. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology/ (ďžâăŽâ)ďžâ§*:ď˝Ľďž đđđđđđđ đđ đđđ đđđđđđ đđ đđđ đđ-đ-đ-đđđđ...! (*´č¸ď˝*) âĄâĄâĄ 3 2 3 2 3 9 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAMROD 102,043 Posted April 22 Author Share Posted April 22 This is her second lowest review by Pitchfork to date, the lowest is Reputation with 6.0 Her highest is orginal RED with a 9.00 & second highest is Red (TV) with 8.5 (ďžâăŽâ)ďžâ§*:ď˝Ľďž đđđđđđđ đđ đđđ đđđđđđ đđ đđđ đđ-đ-đ-đđđđ...! (*´č¸ď˝*) âĄâĄâĄ 2 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartacus 4,485 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Cowboy Carter got 8.4 which of course means TTPD will win AOTY. -đđđ đ đđđ đđđđđđ⢠17 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teletubby 130,449 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Anthology got a 6  i â¤ď¸ 20 3 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rahrahbitchson 15,519 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Another 6 more and it would only expose the Illuminati tricks of this one!! QuizĂĄs bastaba respirar, sĂłlo respirar, muy lento...đ Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
clownery 2,837 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 You can tell she paid Pitchfork because this album is a 4.0 at best and still will win AOTY 5 4 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson123 34,358 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 I'd fear for my life to be honest. Olivia Horn: Â 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levine 20,814 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Too generous. 3 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenegAde 17,329 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 We love a real review 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaGame 2,308 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Tbh maximum 4. Hope the reviews show her that she can't put out music just for the bling when she is the biggest pop girl right now I could be your mustang for the weekend Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarstruckIllusion 46,997 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 (edited) Them thinking Chromatica is better⌠maybe we SHOULD call basement restoration services after all EDIT: Help  Edited April 22 by StarstruckIllusion 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas 22,706 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Very generous, it's a 4 at best Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy232000 9,571 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Saw a few swifties on twitter saying her and her team are probably scrambling trying to soften the blow, and that Taylor usually doesnât share reviews on her stories but started to after the mixed/bad reviews started to come in. 7 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of the Fall 3,444 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Her second lowest score yet and it is still way too high He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and shadow and he is a great favorite 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
River 101,585 Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 #64 Best Album of 2024 I'm working late, cause I'm a puta Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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