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PARELES<\/strong> There are some magnificent moments among the synths, especially with the vocal harmonies in songs like \u201cSo Long, London\u201d and \u201cI Can Fix Him (No Really I Can).\u201d But some of the sameness also comes from tunes and cadences that are starting to feel too familiar. One that especially stuck out to me on this album is the way a sustained verse melody gives way to a choppy pre-chorus, or chorus, that arrives in two-syllable bursts, the way it does in \u201cMy Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,\u201d \u201cFresh Out the Slammer,\u201d \u201cI Can Do It With a Broken Heart,\u201d \u201cThe Prophecy\u201d and \u201cThe Bolter.\u201d<\/p>\n When Swift started using that device, it brought some fresh hip-hop percussiveness into songwriting that was rooted in country. But now it\u2019s standard practice for Swift and her many emulators. Swift is 11 albums and umpteen bonus tracks into her recording career, so it\u2019s harder for her to evade echoes of her past. The songs near the end of this album, especially, start to sound like outtakes from \u201cFolklore,\u201d pretty as they are. But no one is forcing her to put 31 songs on an album, either.<\/p>\n GANZ<\/strong> It is simply too much, Jon, and for the first time in a while, listeners and critics are having<\/a> honest<\/a> conversations<\/a> about it. Being a fan has come to mean unequivocal support in the stan (or superfan) era<\/a>, with no room for criticism or questioning of any kind. The \u201cTortured Poets\u201d moment is an interesting test \u2014 it has cracked open the door for debate and perhaps humanized Swift once again in the process. It\u2019s been fascinating thinking about this album in contrast to Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s supersized latest release, \u201cCowboy Carter,\u201d<\/a> which is diametrically opposed in nearly every way, though she is also the curator of a passionate fan base. (She is also eight years older.) At such a fraught moment in the world, Swift\u2019s focus has grown exponentially insular. There can be comfort and safety in that for both artist and listener, but it only strengthens that parasocial relationship.<\/p>\n ZOLADZ<\/strong> To Ben\u2019s point about the fans, and to crib a phrase from the streaming economy, this feels like an album designed for her top 5 percent of listeners \u2014 the ride-or-dies who will defend her every move and pore over her every lyrical clue. Everyone else seems either puzzled or underwhelmed by it as a whole. But Swift is someone who thrives off feeling underestimated and misunderstood, so maybe the mixed reception of this album will be the creative rocket fuel that launches her into her next era. Only time will tell if \u201cTortured Poets\u201d represents a turning point in the cultural narrative about Swift, or if the mixed reception will be washed away by her next inevitable triumph. Appropriately enough, one of the two albums she has left to rerecord is \u201cReputation,\u201d a defiant album she made during a time when her approval rating had dipped some. Suffice to say, I think we\u2019re now ready for it,<\/a> again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n