Taylor Swift insists ‘sensational and sorrowful’ era that inspired Tortured Poets Department is ‘over’ and even takes blame for ‘self-inflicted’ drama… as fans react to album inspired by Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy

Fortnight 

A tuneful duet with Post Malone and a song seemingly about a two-week fling. The slow, electronic rhythms set the early tone.

The Tortured Poets Department

Another shimmering melody, and lyrics which suggest that Taylor, modestly, doesn’t see herself at the top table of tortured poets: ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, and I’m not Patti Smith.’

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

Written solely by Swift, this song’s dense electronic hum adds forceful notes. ‘Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me,’ she vows.

Down Bad

‘Everything comes out teenage petulance,’ sings Taylor as she bitterly surveys the fallout from an old relationship.

So Long, London

The first track to be written with The National’s Aaron Dessner brings a change of pace, with a lovely, choral intro. ‘So long, London, you’ll find someone,’ sings Taylor.

But Daddy I Love Him

‘I know he’s crazy, but he’s the one I want,’ sings Swift, showing wry humour as she admits to falling for the bad boys. Produced, with real brightness, by Dessner.

Fresh Out The Slammer

Finger-picked acoustic guitar adds folky notes reminiscent of lockdown albums Folklore and Evermore.

Florida!!!

An album highlight, this theatrical duet with London singer Florence Welch is an uplifting song of escape – from small-town life and a bad romance.

Guilty As Sin?

A tale of unrequited love, and a superb slice of 1980s-style soft rock. It even mentions The Downtown Lights, a 1989 single by Scottish band The Blue Nile.

Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?

Big drums, a dramatic arrangement, and more dry humour in another song penned solely by Swift. ‘You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me,’ she snarls.

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

A moody, stripped-down number worthy of Lana Del Rey, who has also worked extensively with the song’s producer, Jack Antonoff.

The Alchemy: Sporting metaphors aplenty suggest a track inspired by the singer’s current boyfriend, American football star Travis Kelce. Pictured at Coachella this week

Loml

‘You said I’m the love of your life,’ sings Taylor on this warm, resonant piano ballad. In a smart twist, the ‘loml’ ultimately becomes ‘the loss of my life’.

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

More 1980s influences on an electronic pop track that sees Taylor vowing to remain a trouper, despite any romantic strife.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

‘You didn’t measure up in any measure of a man,’ sings a disdainful Swift on a melodramatic ballad.

The Alchemy

Sporting metaphors aplenty suggest a track inspired by the singer’s current boyfriend, American football star Travis Kelce. ‘When I touch down, call the amateurs and cut them from the team,’ she sings.

Clara Bow

It’s tempting to think Taylor sees something of herself in a closing track inspired by an American actress of the 1920s who lived her life in the Hollywood goldfish bowl.