Albums of the Year 2024: Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology

From the iconic Pop anthems that dominated this Summer, to the Pop Punk resurgence that is still going strong, it’s been an exciting twelve months of new music. I haven’t struggled to choose an album of the year, but I acknowledge that my choice is in great company.

To Dream of Something Wicked by Mat Kerekes deserves a mention before I continue, the solo career of the Citizen lead singer receives a criminal lack of attention, and his latest album is a perfect addition to his growing catalogue. It is melodically and lyrically fascinating, gentle, and captivating, and would have been a strong contender for this year had Taylor Swift just kept to the record breaking world tour and the rerecording of her albums with added vault tracks, but alas…    

My initial review of The Tortured Poets Department back in April praised Taylor Swift’s authenticity and imaginative songwriting, both of which shine even brighter eight months on. My year was dotted with moments of appreciation for the wildly varied emotions put to music across the 31 track album, and how expertly it is crafted.

The bridge of “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” was one of the first things that caught my attention and the more I’ve listened, the more impressed I’ve become with how it captures the intimate emotions of an experience that otherwise feels so solitary. Other parts of the story are shared in an equally vulnerable nature, cleverly interspersed across the tracklist in lifelike bursts. The delicately sung “now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes, and hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons, even if I die screaming, and I hope you hear it” in “The Black Dog” is sandwiched between a reflection on fame with “Clara Bow” and confident, playful, self-explanatory track “imgonnagetyouback”. The album covers everything from the heartwrenching to the mischievous in the most profound and relatable way, every track has its place and the more time that has passed, the more that has revealed itself.

The Tortured Poets Department is full of relatable contradictions, understandable mood shifts, character crossovers and varying themes, tied together by genuine emotion and extremely well written, layered lyrics. 2024 was a strong year for new music but there was no competition for my album of the year, I can confidently say that this one will be on my listening roster forever.  

Three More Essential Albums of 2024

Mat Kerekes – To Dream of Something Wicked

The Story So Far – I Want To Disappear

Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties – In Lieu Of Flowers

Musical Experiences of the Year

Had this been any other year, I’d have found more words to praise blink-182’s headline set at Reading Festival, I’d have excitedly described the energy that is entirely unique to a crowd watching The Story So Far, and I’d have raved about seeing Citizen live for the first time, but 2024 was of course the year that Taylor Swift brought The Eras Tour to the UK. To sustain the feeling of magic for three and a half hours is evidence of talent, dedication and originality in unprecedented abundance, it was indescribable.

Track of the Year

Taylor Swift – “Guilty as Sin?”

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