Who knew what latest era would bring? Or even what it would sound like? Would it build off the or the ? or the of her latest re-records? Or its two predecessors in black-and-white covers: the and the ?

B次元官网网址淭he Tortured Poets Department,B次元官网网址� here Friday, is an amalgamation of all of the above, reflecting the artist who B次元官网网址� at the peak of her powers B次元官网网址� has spent the last few years re-recording her lifeB次元官网网址檚 work and filtered through synth-pop anthems, breakup ballads, provocative and matured considerations.

In moments, feels like a bloodletting: A cathartic purge after a major heartbreak delivered through an ascendant vocal run, an elegiac verse, or mobile, synthesized productions that underscore the powers of SwiftB次元官网网址檚 storytelling.

And there are surprises. The lead single and opener B次元官网网址淔ortnightB次元官网网址� is B次元官网网址�1989B次元官网网址� grown up B次元官网网址� and features . It might seem like a funny pairing, but itB次元官网网址檚 a long time coming: Since at least 2018, SwiftB次元官网网址檚 fans have known of her love for MaloneB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏etter Now.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淏ut Daddy I Love HimB次元官网网址� is the return of country Taylor, in some ways B次元官网网址� fairytale songwriting, a full band chorus, a plucky acoustic guitar riff, and a cheeky lyrical reversal: B次元官网网址淏ut Daddy I love him / IB次元官网网址檓 having his baby / No, IB次元官网网址檓 not / But you should see your faces.B次元官网网址� (Babies appear on B次元官网网址淔lorida!!!B次元官网网址� and the bonus track B次元官网网址淭he ManuscriptB次元官网网址� as well.)

The fictitious B次元官网网址淔resh Out The SlammerB次元官网网址� begins with a really pretty psych guitar tone that disappears beneath wind-blown production; the new wave-adjacent B次元官网网址淢y Boy Only Breaks His Favorite ToysB次元官网网址� : B次元官网网址淚 felt more when we played pretend than with all the Kens / B次元官网网址楥ause he took me out of my box.B次元官网网址�

Even before kicks off her verse in B次元官网网址淔lorida!!!,B次元官网网址� the chorusB次元官网网址� explosive repetition of the song title hits hard with nostalgic 2010s indie rock, perhaps an alt-universe Swiftian take on Sufjan StevensB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚llinois.B次元官网网址�

As another title states, B次元官网网址淪o Long, London,B次元官网网址� indeed.

It would be a disservice to read SwiftB次元官网网址檚 songs as purely diaristic, but that track B次元官网网址� the fifth on this album, which her fans typically peg as the most devastating slot on each album B次元官网网址� evokes striking parallels to her relationship with a certain English actor she Place it next to a sleepy love ode like B次元官网网址淭he Alchemy,B次元官网网址� with its references to B次元官网网址渢ouchdownB次元官网网址� and cutting someone B次元官网网址渇rom the teamB次元官网网址� and well B次元官网网址� .

Revenge is still a pervasive theme. But where the reprisal anthems on B次元官网网址淢idnightsB次元官网网址� were vindictive, on B次元官网网址淭he Tortured Poets Department,B次元官网网址� there are new complexities: B次元官网网址淲hoB次元官网网址檚 Afraid of Little Old Me?B次元官网网址� combines the musical ambitiousness of B次元官网网址渆vermoreB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渇olkloreB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� and adds a resounding bass on the bridge B次元官网网址� with sensibilities ripped from the weapons-drawn, obstinate B次元官网网址淩eputation.B次元官网网址� But here, Swift mostly trades victimhood for self-assurance, warts and all.

B次元官网网址淲hoB次元官网网址檚 afraid of little old me?B次元官网网址� she sings. B次元官网网址淵ou should be,B次元官网网址� she responds.

And yet, B次元官网网址淭he Smallest Man Who Ever LivedB次元官网网址� may be her most biting song to date: B次元官网网址淵ou didnB次元官网网址檛 measure up in any measure of a man,B次元官网网址� she sings atop propulsive piano. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l forget you, but I wonB次元官网网址檛 ever forgive,B次元官网网址� she describes her target, likely the same B次元官网网址渢attooed golden retriever,B次元官网网址� a jejune description, mentioned in the title track.

Missteps are few, found in other mawkish lyrics and songs like B次元官网网址淒own BadB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淕uilty as Sin?B次元官网网址� that falter when placed next to the albumB次元官网网址檚 more meditative pop moments.

Elsewhere, Swift holds up a mirror to her melodrama and melancholy B次元官网网址� sheB次元官网网址檚 crying at the gym, donB次元官网网址檛 tell her about B次元官网网址渟ad,B次元官网网址� is she allowed to cry? She died inside, she thinks you might want her dead; she thinks she might just die. She listens to the voices that tell her B次元官网网址淟ights, camera, bitch, smile / Even when you want to die,B次元官网网址� as she sings on B次元官网网址淚 Can Do It with a Broken Heart,B次元官网网址� a song about her own performances B次元官网网址� onstage and as a public figure.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 miserable and nobody even knows!B次元官网网址� she laughs at the end of the song before sighing, B次元官网网址淭ry and come for my job.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淐lara BowB次元官网网址� enters the pantheon of great final tracks on a Swift album. The title refers to the 1920s silent film star who burned fast and bright B次元官网网址� an early B次元官网网址淚t girlB次元官网网址� and Hollywood sex symbol subject to vitriolic gossip, a victim of easy, everyday misogyny amplified by celebrity. Once BowB次元官网网址檚 harsh Brooklyn accent was heard in the talkies, it was rumored, her career was over.

In life, Bow later attempted suicide and was sent to an asylum B次元官网网址� the same institution that appears on B次元官网网址淲hoB次元官网网址檚 Afraid of Little Old Me?B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淐lara BowB次元官网网址� works as an allegory and a cautionary tale for Swift, the same way B次元官网网址淢abel NormandB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� another tragic silent film star B次元官网网址� functioned for the Fleetwood Mac star.

Nicks appears in B次元官网网址淐lara Bow,B次元官网网址� too: B次元官网网址淵ou look like Stevie Nicks in B次元官网网址�75 / The hair and lips / Crowd goes wild.B次元官网网址�

Later, Swift turns the camera inward, and the song ends with her singing, B次元官网网址淵ou look like Taylor Swift in this light / WeB次元官网网址檙e loving it / YouB次元官网网址檝e got edge / She never did.B次元官网网址� The album ends there, on what could be read as self-deprecation but stings more like frustrating self-awareness.

Swift sings about a tortured poet, but she is one, too. And isnB次元官网网址檛 it great that sheB次元官网网址檚 allowed herself the creative license?

Maria Sherman, The Associated Press