Laurel Hell and The Art of the Changing Artist

In 2018, Mitski released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, Be the Cowboy. It is a record that almost four years later plays just as great as when it came out. (I actually had it ranked as my number one album that year too). Then things started to change. Well, that is for the listeners, maybe not as much for Mitski herself. She decided to step away from music. At the time it seemed permanent. She even ceased her social media presence for a time. Since she has returned to music, announced this new record, and started doing interviews to promote the record, she still doesn’t control her social media. In a thank-you note to fans on Twitter when the album dropped, she noted, “…[She] makes herself unavailable to protect [herself].” That sentiment is not lost on this newest album, Laurel Hell. As she plays on the duality of intense emotionality and sparse lyricism, Mitski is back. At least for the time being.

Mitski’s music has always an intense emotionality. And certainly not just in one way. Sometimes it comes across as unbridled joy, sometimes blistering anger, and other times sadness. None of those feel overly present on Laurel Hell though. In fact, the record often dips into a new and disaffected sort of emotionality for Mitski. The contrast between the often bombastic and upbeat instrumentals and sparse lyricism and vocals from Mitski herself exemplify this song after song. Take the lead single on the record, “Working for the Knife.” Mitski’s songwriting is as strong as ever, but it’s far sparser than something from Be the Cowboy like “Old Friend” or “Your Best American Girl” from Puberty 2. It represents storytelling of a different variety. Storytelling that relies less on vivid or precise imagery and more on feeling. There are a number of tracks on Laurel Hell that don’t have traditional choruses but opt for instrumentals that punctuate the feelings laid out in Mitski’s verses.

The difficult part of the album as a whole is not how that contrast exists on individual tracks but how it varies between tracks. This album was pieced together over three years with different iterations. Sometimes it’s hard not to sense that hodgepodge nature in the pacing of the record. It works in slowing the album down on tracks like "There's Nothing Left For You" then segueing into "It Should've Been Me" with a bit of tonal whiplash. There actually be two even shorter albums throughout Laurel Hell’s runtime when the record is parsed out. While this is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, it can result in disjointed pacing between tracks.

Because of that, Laurel Hell may not feel as complete as Be the Cowboy or Puberty 2, but it never feels anything less than Mitski. Even if that means the music and Mitski are more guarded than before. As an artist grows and changes, their music and their relationship to their fans is bound to change. Laurel Hell does not just represent that change but embraces it with feeling. Even when those feelings are often complicated and opaque.

Top Tracks from Laurel Hell

Should've Been Me

Heat Lightning

The Only Heartbreaker

Working for the Knife

Love Me More