Mitski released her newest album, Nothing Is About to Happen to Me, on February 27th, after the ground-breaking and hugely successful release of the This Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We album. I’ve listened to Mitski for years, and I went to her 2022 concert in Minneapolis when she was on her Laurel Hell tour. I have all her albums on either vinyl or CD, some on both. However, my first listen through of the newest album left me slightly disappointed.
When I say I’m slightly disappointed with this album, it’s not because the album is bad; the music flows well together and feels complete, it’s exactly what you’d expect from an artist who’s won multiple “best songwriter of our generation” accolades. Mitski released This Land Is Inhabitable and So Are We only a year after Laurel Hell. With these two stunning, back-to-back albums and then a three-year break, you’d think Mitski would be cooking up something spectacular.
Nothing Is About to Happen to Me is more familiar than it is groundbreaking. It feels and sounds like Mitski with her typical rhythmic drum patterns, strong bass lines, and powerful, haunting vocals, but it lacks an element of revolutionary transformation that made her past albums so incredible. A few of the songs like “Where’s My Phone?” sound like they could have been released 10 years ago with Puberty 2. In fact, all of the songs follow similar patterns to past songs from different eras.
“With my albums, I’ve always sort of written in a loose way until I finally collect enough songs to make an album,” Mitski stated in an interview with Apple Music. This is exactly what this new album feels like. It’s not meant to follow a specific theme. The songs are whatever Mistki wants them to be; they weren’t created for an album. If we’re being honest, Mitski created this album based on vibes.
This album is so deeply Mitski. It wasn’t created for the purpose of becoming popular or winning awards. It was released because Mitski created it and decided to share it with us. I can only imagine what other songs she’s keeping to herself; perhaps another album is soon to follow this one, similar to Laurel Hell and This Land is Inhospitable and So Are We.
It’d be wrong to say I’m disappointed with this album after listening to it again and giving it more consideration. I’d initially been expecting a new and exciting album, but who’s to say familiarity isn’t just as exciting? I enjoyed hearing what Mitski conveys through her music and the new emotions evoked by the sound waves she produces. Even if it seems like it’s borrowed from previous albums, it’s just nice to be able to listen to her again for the first time.