“THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY” was released just two hours after “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” (TTPD) and added 15 new tracks, making the updated track list an impressive length of 31 songs.
During the albums rollout, Swift announced three new editions of physical copies of TTPD including: “The Black Dog,” “The Albatross,” and “The Bolter,” all of which are deluxe-edition tracks from “THE ANTHOLOGY.”
“The Black Dog” is a song that I feel was perfect to introduce the deluxe tracks. Not only do I feel like the deluxe edition’s album cover is a perfect visual representation of “The Black Dog,” sonically, I also feel that it is the album’s strongest point. Every listen is a brand new experience and I don’t think I’ll ever be quenched.
“The Albatross” is another sultry and silk-smooth love child of Swift’s country-folk explorations. When Swift announced TTPD, I envisioned an experience with textiles, aromas and colors, curated with some of her best writing, but with this song, I feel like she fell short, especially compared to the vulnerability and masterful lyricism she most definitely possesses, as seen in earlier songs.
“The Bolter” is “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “Evermore’s” black sheep of the family. Swift is notorious for her mastery of decorating her songs with a cherry-on-top bridge, and this song proves that by miles. With her voice’s wistful weariness and playful purgatory, Swift ties a noose made out of lace and dangles it from her ceiling just to admire her work.
I often find myself disappointed by Swift’s deluxe editions because they more often than not, don’t feel like an extension of the album, rather an accident where she forgot to include a few songs when releasing the album. But this is a rare case where I have a deeper love for the extended tracklist as opposed to the original one. TTPD is so evidently a cultivation of her strongest quill-written albums, “Evermore,” “Folklore” and “Midnights.” I feel like these songs fit perfectly with her more recent reflective, sad-girl songs, which just so happen to be my absolute favorite.
