The Tortured Poets Department [Ghosted White Vinyl]

LP02232

UPC:5893331

The Tortured Poets Department^[a] is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records, it was written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner. Swift announced it at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, after winning Best Pop Vocal Album for her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022).

Musically, the album is a minimal, synth-pop and folk-pop effort with rock and country stylings. It consists of largely midtempo songs driven by synthesizers and drum machines alongside organic instruments such as piano and guitar. Its subject matter explores Swift's psyche and outlook on her public and private lives, with lyrics blending motifs of sorrow, self-awareness, melodrama, and humor.

Swift conceived The Tortured Poets Department shortly after finishing work on Midnights and continued developing the former during the Eras Tour (2023–2024), her ongoing sixth concert tour. Self-described as her "lifeline" album, The Tortured Poets Department was perceived by Swift as a culmination of her imperative songwriting. It is a double album, with the second part, subtitled The Anthology, surprise-released two hours after the first. American rapper Post Malone features on the opening song, "Fortnight", which was released as the lead single, whereas the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine is featured on the track "Florida!!!".

Publications reported that The Tortured Poets Department polarized critics; the majority of reviews were positive and praised Swift's songwriting for its catharsis and wit, while the rest suggested that the album lacked the concision and profundity of her past works. The sonic direction was divisive, with some critics finding it tasteful and ambitious, while others dubbed it uninventive due to Swift's persisting collaboration with Antonoff. Commercially, the album broke a string of records globally and topped the official charts in 13 countries. It gained the the highest single-day streams for an album on the streaming platform Spotify, sold more vinyl LPs in the United States in a week than any other album in the SoundScan era, became the fastest-selling album of the 2020s decade in the United Kingdom, and the first album to monopolize the top 10 positions of Australia's ARIA Singles Chart.