Mitski is an indie darling. If you keep up with indie music, you probably already know who she is. If not, you’ve probably met a fan of hers. While her fans are infamously horrid, Mitski is a famously great artist. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We is another example of her artistry. After her underwhelming Laurel Hell, her newest studio project is her most interesting sonically. A gothic country sound that instantly takes you to an evening car ride in the country. As Mitski called it, “Her most American album yet,” Mitski’s melancholy lyrics mix perfectly with the gothic country sound of the album to give one of the most fascinating albums of the year.
The sound of the album, as discussed in the introduction is a gothic country sound. Previously mentioned before, Mitski described this album as “her most American album”, and this is best exemplified by the sonic sound of the project. Listening to the album instantly takes you to a gloomy late-night drive through the country. The reserved instrumentals, distorted vocals, and moments in each song were the production and instrumental come together for beautiful outros. Mitski shows how she can tell stories, even through instrumentals.
She continues with her beautifully personal lyrics in this album. Mitski’s lyricism is what drew me to her in the first place, and her lyrics continue to mature on this album. Thematically, this album tackles some of her heaviest topics yet. Spirituality, alcoholism, memory, and self-love. With every idea she tackles, she gives the maturity and nuance it needs.
There are a few tracks I would like to talk about individually.
Bug Like an Angel: the opening track to the album, and the perfect tone setter for the rest of the album. The simple instrumental and gospel choir in the chorus perfectly establish the tone. Throughout the album, it’ll continue to use similar sounds to those found within the opening. Lyrically, the opening is strong as well. Mitski talks about her history with addiction and religion in this song. As mentioned earlier, this song has a gospel choir, and Mitski uses the gospel choir to continue these themes. For the idea of alcoholism, the choir sings “Family” throughout the chorus. Mitski is using the chorus to show how she feels when she drinks. She has family, and she feels as if she has others. When you look at it through the views of religion, the metaphor continues as strongly. A gospel choir is commonplace in churches in the rural south, and the sung word of “Family” throughout the chorus could show the isolation Mitski feels at a church. Beyond this, the double entendre throughout the rest of the song is just as well made.
“When I’m bent over, wishin’ it was over Makin’ all variety of vows I’ll never keep
I try to remember the wrath of the devil Was also given him by God.” This verse works expertly, showing both meanings. The first half of the verse could be interpreted as being drunk. But it could also be about prayer. The motion of being bent over is associated greatly with both prayer and being drunk. Being bent down throwing up after a late night of drinking or being bent down and praying. The second half of the verse could be interpreted as Mitski saying she wants to stop drinking. She wants to quit drinking, but she never will. It could also be about her saying she is neither good nor evil for backing out on promises. If God created evil and good, then it’s okay for her to break promises. From just the little bit I got from this song, you can see how much it has to say even in a single song.
I’m Your Man: The second to last track on this album leaves an impression on you as it begins to wrap up. Continuing with the basic instrumental, the song’s instrumental is a guitar. Only two verses long, it has some of the most interesting lyrics of the album. Lines like “I’m sorry I’m the one who loved you”, could be interpreted as a condescending apology. “I’ll meet your judgment through hounds” continues the motif of religion, referring to the hounds of hell. This is also a reference to an earlier song, “The Deal”, about her making a deal. This is a great comeback, showing how the hounds have started their hunt. The song ends with an explosion of dogs barking. One of the best moments on the album, as the instrumental, her vocals, and other aspects of the song are all drowned in these barking dogs. The quiet barking that begins at the end of verse 2, that gets louder over the outro. There’s also the sound of bugs throughout this track, continuing the theme of gothic country perfectly.
I Love Me After You: Mitski always makes phenomenal closing tracks, and she’s yet to disappoint here. An optimistic ending to an emotionally raw album, it talks about the person she’s becoming after a breakup. The song is about her doing simple things around the house as a form of self-care. The vocals on this song sound almost at peace in the song. This song sounds familiar in the album yet forges its own identity within the project and as a song. Lines such as, “Streets are mine, the night is mine” and “Laughin’ the mirror Cool water in my Glass” have a feeling of peace and comfort within each line. This is also an important song within her discography because it starts to show how she’s taking care of herself. A lot of her albums have melancholy endings, and here, it ends with an upbeat anthem about her starting to care for herself. A perfect example of Mitski’s continued growth through this project, as now she’s starting to take care of herself and love her.
This would easily be my favorite album of the year if it wasn’t for one big problem, the songs blend in with each other, to the point where I can’t tell the songs from one another. If I didn’t have the track list pulled up while listening to the album, I couldn’t tell one song from the other. It becomes frustrating upon relistens for an album as thematically interesting as this when you want to go back and relisten to everything, but it becomes frustrating when I mean to listen to one song but end up turning on another. While not a particularly big problem in the grand scheme of things, it’s a problem that has only started to bother me more as I reflect on the album. But, when there’s only one major complaint in an album, you know it’s a good one.
Mitski is one of my favorite artists, and in her 7th studio album, she creates an interesting new sound for herself. Beautiful vocals, emotional songwriting, and a haunting atmosphere, this album has everything you’d want from a Mitski project, with a sound that helps this project stand out from the rest of her discography, this is everything I could want from a Mitski album. This album has made me excited for her future projects, and how she’ll continue to experiment with her sound. There are few like Mitski, and there are fewer as consistent as her. Mitski dropped a favorite of the year, and one of the easiest albums to sit down with. Hopefully, when she tours, she’ll come to Alabama again and I can see her live.
Photo credits: https://www.thefader.com/2023/09/15/mitski-the-land-is-inhospitable-and-so-are-we-review
RATING: 8/10
