After almost four years with no new music, renowned Japanese American singer-songwriter Mitski Miyawaki, better known by the moniker “Mitski” to audiences, released her sixth studio album. “Laurel Hell” approached the artist’s individualized path of making music through indie-pop and rock-influenced synths and chillingly inquisitive songwriting. It is through these techniques she questions her stance of acclimation and poses herself against her own image. While this album may have brought some of the most streamlined sounds from the artist, it makes its statement with the refreshing and unrelenting gaze of writing that truly only Mitski can provide.
In the chilling, synth-led opener, “Valentine, Texas,” the tone of the album is set. Mitski sings, “Let’s step carefully into the dark/ Once we’re in, I’ll remember my way around/ Who will I be tonight? Who will I become?” before the song opens like a bursting flower, throwing the listener into the depths of self-questioning before launching head-first into the second song and lead single of the album, “Working for the Knife.” What makes this album stand with such unwavering richness is the duality of each track. While listeners may have been inclined to write off the lead single in favor of the newly released songs, they could find a reasserted truth to this track, as it stands between the opener and “Stay Soft.”
While longtime fans may certainly notice a slight pivot in production style with a lean-in to ‘80s pop sound on this new album, they can still count on Mitski’s ability to pair a foot-moving tempo with a gut-punching lyrical progression. This technique is found in “Love Me More,” an unbashful recounting of wanting a love to completely overtake and redefine you to the point of being utterly unrecognizable. Mitski submits herself to vulnerability enough to wallow in the experiences she recounts, but still holds enough of herself back to keep an air of comfort in carefully controlled privacy.
Stand outs from “Laurel Hell” are “Stay Soft,” which takes the introspective view of a necessary but unfortunate process of hardening oneself to life, and “Should’ve Been Me.” While “Stay Soft” revels in becoming hardened, “Should’ve Been Me” sympathizes with a partner who she was unable to give herself up emotionally. It is a paradox that Mitski explores with catchy, rhythmic and playful instrumental melody.
Upon a full listen to the album, it could be said that the album is somewhat disjointed, but further surrender to “Laurel Hell” concludes that it is not important. The sounds of this album that stitch it together give strength to it thematically. This is precisely what breathes life into the album and marks it as such a wonderful piece of music that proves Mitski’s timeless talent and epitomizes her transformative insights.
