Taylor Swift's New Album Is A Massive Disappointment, Seems To Have Lost Her Edge: REVIEW

Taylor Swift's fastball appears to have slowed down considerably.

Hype surrounding her new album "The Tortured Poets Department" has been deafening for months, and her star power has never been more powerful.

T-Swift sells out stadiums, is dating Travis Kelce, is hands down the biggest entertainer in the world by a considerable margin and was expected to take things to a new level with her latest album.

Well, buckle up, folks, because I've got some disappointing news:

It's awful.

Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" is a complete bust.

Now, let me say right from the jump that I'm a fan of Swift's music and have been since I was a kid. I'm not the kind of guy who has to pretend Swift's music is awful because I'm trying to signal something or compensate for a lack of something else. I'm not a hater at all. Not even a little bit. In fact, I'm a huge fan.

Having said that, I get paid to call balls and strikes, and I respect the audience way too much to lie to you. Nothing would have made me happier than reporting "The Tortured Poets Department" was straight fire. I wish that was the case.

It's simply not.

Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" is a huge letdown. (Photo by Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

It's hard to even describe what Swift gives fans with "The Tortured Poets Department." The album features 31 tracks. The first 16 songs dropped around midnight and then Swift surprised fans by announcing a couple hours later it was actually a secret double album with 15 more songs immediately dropping. The second half is titled "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology."

Pretty cool. A testament to her incredible work ethic to pump out a 31-track album. The woman's ability to produce music is second to none.

Unfortunately, virtually none of it is good. When you go back and look at her older albums, there are a few hit songs that everyone recognizes. Whether it's "Fearless," "Speak Now," "Red" "Folklore" or a different album, there's always some bangers that stand out as certified hits.

After crushing "The Tortured Poets Department," I don't think there's a single song out of the 31 new tracks that will be remembered. Not one. How is it possible Taylor Swift released 31 songs and not one is a clear hit? I was stunned as I went from song to song expecting to be captivated. Never happened.

Taylor Swift's new album isn't good. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

I imagine "Thank You Aimee," "Cassandra," "Fortnight" and a couple others might roll up the streaming charts, but in terms of staying power, none of it will stick around for long. T-Swift starts dating Travis Kelce and attending NFL games, and now her music has no edge to it. Coincidence or totally unrelated? I report. You are the judge.

Now, what are the themes of "The Tortured Poets Department"? Complaining. A lot of complaining, flashbacks to heartbreak in her younger days, beating her rivals (Looking at you, Kim Kardashian!) and the emotional roller coaster fans have grown used to for more than a decade and a half.

Yet, none of it sticks out. None of it. It's all wildly safe. The only song that actually has a bit of bite to it is  "Thank You Aimee" because it directly attacks Kim Kardashian. The first half of the album is honestly painful to get through at times. Boring, unoriginal, nothing special and just vanilla.

Things do noticeably pick up in the back half, but not nearly enough to save "The Tortured Poets Department" from being anything other than a massive disappointment.

I truly think Swift is a generational talent who has done some incredible things, but this album is right up there with "Lover" in terms of not getting the job done. I'm giving it a 5/10, and that's me being wildly generous. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.