Melachony and melodic beats, with nuanced lyrics that solemnly make you think: it’s Mitski. The award winning, Japanese-American singer-songwriter Mitski, recently released her seventh studio album, “The Land Is So Inhopstiable and So Are We”, during Semptember 2023, after her faux retirement from fame back in 2019, following her sixth album release, “Be Cowboy”. The alternative indie album was thought provoking, unique and unlike her previous albums.
Mitski, born Mitsuki Laycook, has been creating music since 2012, self-releasing her first two albums, Lush, that was made for a senior project during her time studying studio composition at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music, and “Retired from Sad, New Buisness in Career”, in 2013. Mitski’s third album: “Bury Me at Makeout Creek”, in 2014, was signed with the label Double Double Whammy. However since signing with Dead Oceans in 2015, she has released her latter three albums.
I had never personally listened to a full Mitski album before, however I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mitski’s distinct sound in her music felt fresh, and unlike current chart topping hits. There was a general melancholy feeling strung through every song, comparable to Phoebe Bridgers. I noticed a contrast between songs such as, “I Don’t Like My Mind”, that are stripped back just Mitski with a guitar, and, “Bug Like an Angel”, that are sonically full with choirs adding a powerful richness to the melody.
Junior and music enthusiast, Kylie Westover said, “I like Mitski because I’m a sad teenage girl, and her lyrics describe feelings really well and help you get through certain emotions.”
“The Land is So Unhosptiable and So Are We” is a drastic turn from “Lauren Hell”, her previous album, which fans speculated would be her last. Audiotarily, “Lauren Hell” being a dance album with large use of synthized instruments, clashes with Mitski’s singular sounding latest work with the most instrumentation on songs like, “Heaven” including a full orchestra sound.
In typical Mitski her lyrics shine through, acting as poetry that creates beautifully delicate stories in every song with use of metaphors and vivid imagery. The theme as described by Mitski is her experience in America, which was fittingly written in Nashville, Tennessee, and the folksy twang can be heard in songs such as, “I’m your Man”. However there is a cozier feel in the song, “The Frost”, which describes gradeschool friends.
Overall this is a phenomenal album, and as described by, sophomore, Rihanna Bracey, “It’s a really good album and everyone should listen to it because she created something special”.
