Crystal Aura Gaze

On April 19, Taylor surprised us with a DOUBLE album when we were only expecting one! This includes a full 31 songs! And on top of that, she is only a little more than halfway through her worldwide Eras tour.

There is so much to cover here. I’m going to break this down into 1) the overall vibe, 2) my thoughts on Taylor’s perspective, 3) my favorite tracks with my own personal interpretation.

My overall thoughts

I absolutely adore this new album. It went beyond my expectations. As I wrote in a previous post, I was disappointed with Midnights because I expected something darker and deeper. TTPD delivered exactly that. It leaned heavily into the folklore/evermore sound, and with those being my current favorites, I’m super pleased.

At the same time, it still had a bit of a Midnights vibe, with the pop and sparkly effects along with some cheeky and playful lines. On one hand it feels very mature, far removed from her 2010s sound. On the other side, there’s still hints of her inner teenager coming out at times, which I love.

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From Taylor’s perspective

I can’t write this review without acknowledging Taylor’s perspective, as her private life is very public and especially comes out through her music. I’m honored that she shares these intimate details of her life with her fans, when she has absolutely no obligation to do so.

From her point of view, this is about recovering from a six year relationship that fizzled out, going through a situationship, and then getting into another serious relationship. She dated Joe Alwyn for over six years, breaking up around her Midnights album release. She then was connected to Matty Healy for a couple months until that was broken off. But there had been rumors about Matty and her going all the way back to 2014. And alas, she ended up with football player Travis Kelce who she’s been dating for almost a year now.

Most of us expected this album to be all about Joe, but it seem that a majority of the tracks describe Matty. There are some slow and sad songs that must be connected to Joe, but it seems that she already processed most of her grief with him on her Midnights album. Possibly, maybe she focused more on her fling with Matty as a distraction from her breakup from Joe? Or it’s very possible that her fling with Matty went a lot deeper than meets the eye. It could also be interpreted that Matty has been her rebound between all her relationships since 2014, and then things finally got serious.

I also expected a lot more love songs about her current relationship with Travis. There are definitely a few on here about him. But I’m glad that it wasn’t, and that we got to hear all the tea about Matty. Another thing to note is that fans absolutely hated her relationship with Matty. People were writing open letters urging her to break up with him. As it turns out, we find out through this album, that he was the one to end things by ghosting her and it left her with a lot of anger.

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My personal favorites

And now that I’ve covered Taylor’s side, ultimately this album is about however you personally interpret it. It’s intriguing trying to read her mind and zoom in on her personal life, but music is supposed to be seen in the eyes of the listener and not the creator.

Fortnight

This opening track really hit me hard. And I hysterically cried when I watched the music video — and then watched it over and over several times. It really hit me in the feels!

This is about having a strong connection with someone for a really short time, but in your mind it feels like forever. And then you have to go on with your life pretending that you’ve moved forward when you really haven’t.

The Tortured Poets Department

I really love the sound of this song, it’s like a chill pop. I feel like this is about a relationship that you feel like isn’t going to last but you want it to. There’s a lot of cynicism there but at the same time it’s like “how could it get any better than this though?”

But Daddy I Love Him

This line comes straight from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. This is about defending the person you love against those who criticize and judge. In the lyrics, she is not solely referencing her own father, this is directed at everyone. And by the end of the song she says how even her dad has come around to approving her boyfriend, so it’s more so about the general public.

I think it’s a cute song and it’s also cheeky with the line “I’m having his baby — no I’m not, but you should see your faces.” You can see her inner teenager coming out in this song.

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

This is not necessarily one of my favorites, but it stands out, and I think it’s probably a lot of people’s favorites. It reminds me of “Look What You Made Me Do” from her reputation era. It’s like… you think I’m scary? I’ll SHOW you scary! Honestly, I am a bit scared of the song! I’m like, Taylor, you ok? It makes me think about how living in the spotlight can truly drive you mad.

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

For a song with the cheesiest title, I actually like this one a lot, because it’s not cheesy at all. I think that this song is absolutely relatable to everyone, at least for me it is. It’s about, fake it til you make it, feeling depressed and heartbroken but smiling and being bubbly towards the world. I feel like most of us try to be as positive as we can on the outside while we are breaking down on the inside (or that’s just me?)

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

It’s angry, it’s raw, and it’s honest. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Clara Bow

This song has many layers to me. I can see Taylor writing this about her lifelong desire for fame, how she finally made it, and how someday another one will replace her. It starts with Clara Bow who was the Hollywood It Girl from the 1920s, and then it goes on to Stevie Nicks the biggest star of the 1970s, now here we are with Taylor in the 2020s, someday another big name will replace her.

I feel this song but in a very different way, obviously I am not famous, nor have I ever chased after that desire. I think of this song more as the passage of time and how each culture has a different type of “idol.” The image of Clara Bow is what captures what society valued at that time. And then the same for Stevie Nicks who’s image says so much about that point in history. Everything from the fashion to the personalities and values. I think it’s very interesting to think about culture shifts and the way society sways through the time periods.

So High School

This song brings a really warm and fuzzy feeling. This is again another example of her teenage self coming out on this album. And we tend to think of high school as a period of cringe and awkwardness and a time that we really want to forget (or that’s just me?!) but then it reminds you of those exciting moments you did have as a teenager and how you can still capture that wonder and playfulness as a grown adult.

Peter

I love this reference to Peter Pan. And it’s about having feelings for a boy who is too immature for you so you tell him that you’ll wait for him to grow up in order to be with you.

The Manuscript

Wow. What a heavy way to end the album. This is the last track on the two-part record. This song feels like a movie. It’s such a story. Beautiful.