By Grace Koennecke, Columns Editor, and Kelley Lach, Visuals Co-Director

[Dead Oceans; 2023]

Rating: 8/10

Key tracks: “My Love Mine All Mine”, “I Don’t Like My Mind”, “Bug Like an Angel”

After releasing her sixth album Laurel Hell via Dead Oceans last year, Mitski shocked fans with the announcement of its follow-up, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We this past July. Separating herself from her alt-pop synth sound, the singer has clearly been influenced by country sounds on this new record, making it one of her most unique.

Creating the album between studios in Los Angeles and Nashville, Mitski has completely changed her attitude, which is admittedly strange to see after hinting at a possible retirement from music in her last work. Still harnessing her inner worries and knack for storytelling, the singer comes back stronger than ever, laying everything out on the table.

Read more: Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo – GUTS

One of the album’s best tracks comes right at the beginning with “Bug Like an Angel”, with scathing lyrics about the singer’s own flaws such as “As I got older, I learned I’m a drinker / Sometimes a drink feels like family” and “Did you go and make promises you can’t keep? / Well, when ya break them, they break you right back.” With quiet guitar strumming and Mitski’s own hums, this song doesn’t necessarily feel self-pitying, but instead acts as a reflection of the habits she’s acquired over time, and that’s what makes it so refreshing and relatable. This song introduces a large choral sound, something that we have not heard in Mitski’s music previously.

Beyond self-reflection, Mitski also creates quirky songs that simultaneously feel satirical yet troublesome, which is especially evident on “I Don’t Like My Mind”. In the span of two minutes and 25 seconds, the singer produces one of the biggest climaxes on the first half of the record, shouting at listeners about the darkness inside her mind. Lyrics expose this darkness as she sings, “I don’t like my mind, I don’t like being left alone in a room / With all its opinions about the things that I’ve done,” leading her into begging the universe not to strip her career away from her. 

Another short but impactful track is “My Love Mine All Mine”, a melancholy ballad that puts love and life in perspective of the bigger picture of the universe, saying “Moon, a hole of light / Through the big top tent up high / Here before and after me”. Singing to the moon, a motif classic to old-timey, lovesick crooners, she begs this celestial body to take her heart, “So, when it comes to be my turn / Could you shine it down here for her?” The song’s simple chorus continues the classic country ballad of this track, driving home the idea that all she has is her love, so she wants it to stick around.

The final track of the album, “I Love Me After You”, shifts sonically to a more rock-inspired backing. The lyrics of this song oppose “My Love Mine All Mine” in that the singer describes acts of self care and self acceptance such as doing skincare, drinking water, and walking through the house naked. The repeating “How I love me after you / King of all the land” strongly states that she is relearning her own power post-breakup. Her healing is facilitated by the care she puts into her physical self.

Lyrically, this album holds up when compared to Mitski’s earlier works, a challenging feat. The sound takes the listener down a unique path, making the work overall reminiscent of the work of classic country greats such as Patsy Cline. 

With some minor setbacks in the middle of the album, along with shorter song lengths that don’t fully expand on Mitski’s thoughts, her seventh studio album is one to add to your fall playlists, serving as an impressive detour in the singer’s sonic legacy.

Listen here: