Mitski’s moody album mesmerizes fans

By Jenna Munswami

The weather still being cold means it is the perfect time to sit inside and listen to music as you await the sunlight again. Mitski, the perfect musician for this, has just released an album to commemorate the season.

Her eighth studio album, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” dropped Feb. 27, coming three years after her last one. The album contains 11 songs with a runtime of 34 minutes and has Mitski’s signature rock and indie sound, but now with some folk influence. She also used live instrumentation from the touring band, The Land. Two singles came out prior, being “Where’s My Phone?” and “I’ll Change for You.”

The introduction for the album is the track “In a Lake.” I found Mitski’s vocals so beautiful in this song. The instrumentation was also interesting and reminded me of the popularly named bardcore genre. Even though she was not singing about whatever medieval bards did, I found that it fit the vibe of the song, nonetheless. Mitski singing about small town life was filled with so much melancholy, but I found I could listen to this one without immediately becoming sad. With elegant strings and vocals I truly loved this as an opener.

The second track was one of the singles, being “Where’s My Phone?” which originally dropped on Jan. 16. It was a complete tonal shift from the first song and showed off more of the rock genre in the album. The percussion in this song was especially good. The lyrics were also slightly unhinged, which makes this a great choice as a single since it gives the tone of the record. Going from “Where’s My Phone?” to “Where’d I Go?” lyrically tells the story of a woman losing herself and possibly her mind. The two-minute mark really does sound like insanity between the lyrics and the instrumentals with all its distortion that carry on for the last minute of the song.

“I’ll Change for You” is the second single and seventh track on the album. Mitski’s songs that cover relationships always carry a different aesthetic in comparison to songs we get from other artists. This could have been a positive song about changing for the one you love, but as per usual, you must feel like your heart is splintering for the narrator. The music and overall sound design of this track is one of the best in my opinion. There is a slight bossa nova vibe going on with the music. Using ambient sounds at one part in the song was a unique choice that I really liked. The instrumentation was also arranged in such a way that made it stand out. Most importantly, Mitski’s vocals really got to shine in this track with the way she holds out notes. It was another good choice as a single as I find this song very pretty.

Two of my personal favorites of the album are “If I Leave” and “Instead of Here.”

“If I Leave” utilizes softer vocals, which contrasts with a very menacing sounding bass. This song talks about the feeling of being truly known in a relationship and how no one else can achieve that for the narrator. It is another heartbreaking song that cuts deep. There was a really great crescendo midway through the song and I loved the change up in instrumentation. However, I wish the heavier rock instrumentals lasted throughout the whole song, but the quieter tone fit the vibe better.

The other track, “Instead of Here” is a haunting song about isolation and not truly living one’s life. The instrumentals were nothing short of beautiful. It is definitely a sad song, but it sounds so pretty with a folk vibe that you can almost forget it is supposed to be sad. There was also a really nice piano part in the middle which I would have loved to hear more. I could listen to the way the song flows all day long.

These are only about half of the songs on the album covered, but overall I found the album to be beautifully written. I would not say there are any “skips” necessarily, but every track has a different vibe that some might like more than others. Mitski is an incredible artist with even more incredible vocals, and her lyricism and storytelling is some of the best out there. I definitely recommend this album and I give it four-out-of-five stars.

Jenna Munswami is a junior communication studies major