“The Tortured Poets Department”, Taylor Swift’s new album, has been an absolute sales success, but it has not become a consensus among critics.
Despite having broken records in streaming and physical sales, the American singer's 11th album has already accumulated negative reviews, which contrast with praise given in favor of the high compositional capacity demonstrated by Taylor in the lyrics of the 31 songs released.
A CNN Below we gathered the opinions of four of the main music outlets.
see below What music critics think about “The Tortured Poets Department”:
Pitchfork: lower rating than Peppa Pig
A review made by Olivia Horn for the Pitchfork gave it a 6.0 for Taylor Swift's new album. The value is even lower than that given by the portal to a Peppa Pig CD, a famous children's cartoon.
“The extended edition of the 'Tortured Poets' anthology runs over two hours, and even in the abridged version, its sense of expansiveness descends to the level of the song, where Swift's writing is, at best, playfully unrestrained and, at worst, visibly lacking an editor,” says Horn in the review.
The comparison of the note obtained by the blonde with that of Peppa Pig went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. There, fans of other singers who recently released albums, such as Beyoncé and Ariana Grande, gathered the notes given:
latest albums by main pop girls rated by pitchfork
Eternal Sunshine 7.2
Cowboy Carter 8.4
GUTS 8.0
Orchids: 8.4
SOS: 8.7
Peppa's Adventures: The Album: 6.5
TTPD The Anthology: 6.0 pic.twitter.com/l0yMxR2j13— Ariana Stats (@theagstats) April 22, 2024
Metacritic: lower average than recent albums
Metacritic, in turn, works as a database that brings together some of the main reviews into an average rating. With it, it is possible to find a midpoint of musical criticism about the album.
The double version of Taylor Swift's new album has, so far, an average of 69 points. The value is lower than the singer's last two albums. “Midnights” averages 85 and “1989 (Taylor's Version)” averages 90.
Rolling Stone called it an “instant classic”
Rolling Stone magazine, also known for its tradition of music criticism, gave the album top marks and said that Taylor Swift's new creation is an “instant classic”.
The text is signed by Rob Sheffield and argues that “The Tortured Poets Department” is the most personal album ever released by the singer, who is notable for talking about her romantic experiences in her musical production.
“'The Tortured Poets Department' combines the intimacy of 'Folklore' and 'Evermore' with the synth-pop brilliance of 'Midnights' to create wildly ambitious and gloriously chaotic music,” it reads.
NME: rare misstep
The British magazine NME, also famous for its reviews musicals gave 3 out of 5 stars to Taylor Swift's new album. Laura Molloy, author of the review, called the album “surprisingly monotonous”.
“Musically, it is an album practically devoid of any noticeable stylistic change or evolution”, says the text. “'The Tortured Poets Department' ends up chasing its own tail with frantic attempts to respond to critics, despite Swift's current stature.”
Taylor Swift is the most searched songwriter in Google history
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
