As a long time fan and follower of Mitski, something that’s kept me coming back for more is her constant evolution. With each album, she has managed to introduce something new while still keeping a distinct and cohesive feel throughout her discography. From harsh piano ballads on Lush (2012) to heavily distorted guitars on Bury Me At Makeout Creek (2014) to synth-pop drum machines on Laurel Hell (2022), Mitski has never been afraid to span genres and themes in her work. On her last album, The Land is Inhospitable And So Are We (TLIISAW), released in 2023, she adopted an alt-folk country feel dominated by acoustic guitars with subtle orchestral backing. Her new release, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, gives us a taste of all of this and more, experimenting with jazz and using extended metaphors to make sarcastic and ironically humorous commentaries on life.
When comparing Nothing’s About to Happen to Me to its predecessor TLIIASAW, it seems to be both a foil and a continuation, with equal parts contrasting and parallel images. The album opens with the line “I’d never live in a small town”, which struck me as an obvious divergence to the recurring mentions of desolate houses and barren streets in older songs like “The Frost”, where the solitary environment forced Mitski into self reflection. With “In a Lake”, she seems to be stepping away from that isolation, and into the possibilities that come with the vastness of a city. Deepening the contrast, TLIIASAW’s animalistic sound effects of chirping insects and barking dogs have been replaced with humanistic noises from busy streets and crowded bars. Similarly, the jam packed imagery of domesticated cats on Nothing’s About to Happen to Me is the antithesis to the wild hounds and blood sucking mosquitoes of before. Despite these differences, the two are tied together lyrically and thematically with persisting loneliness; each album a differing environmental perspective for the same struggles.
Something from Nothing’s About to Happen to Me that we didn’t get to see on Mitski’s last album is a return to the grungier sounds found in her early discography. In songs such as “Where’s My Phone?” and “Lightning”, she devolves into hazy vocals overlaying distorted guitars, creating a toned down likeness to old tracks. I am distinctly reminded of “I Don’t Smoke” and “Your Best American Girl”, starting out with a quiet facade, and shortly bursting into heavy, loud anger. Along the same lines, “That White Cat”, reintroduces the yelling vocals that first came to shape Mitski’s sound. All of these elements together create a feeling reminiscent of Mitski circa the 2010’s, a little treat for fans of her louder stuff.
Taking Mitski in a direction we haven’t seen before, “I’ll Change For You” explores jazz and bossa nova with bubbly bells, soft piano, and clean toned guitars. She incorporates the genre shift nicely into the album, putting the song between two of her more folk and country influenced tracks, and creating a unique, seamless blend of sounds. Throughout the constant change, she stays true to her narrative of codependency, isolation, and identity struggles, whether that be expressed through distortion, yelling, or jazz piano.
It is safe to say that with this new release, Mitski is proving that she has the ability to do it all: synth, indie-rock, chamber pop, singer-songwriter, folk, country, and now jazz. She did a really good job incorporating elements and themes from TLIIASAW while keeping things fresh and interesting for listeners. And, while I tend to gravitate more towards her guitar-dominated tracks, this album was definitely worth the listen (even if I wish the louder parts lasted a bit longer). If you prefer sonically calming albums with the occasional explosion of noise, this might just be the Mitski album for you!
Photo Credits:Lexi Alley