I feel like I live in my own little blissful universe when I listen to music because I can honestly completely ignore what is being said in the song, and just vibe with the beat and the production; what better artist to do that with than Mitski.
Typically singing about very dire topics over poppy beats, this trend doesn’t change with Laurel Hell, and she really dives into some of her poppiest tunes.
Apparently, it’s blasphemous to prefer this over Be The Cowboy. But I row my own boat and found this to be not only a more entertaining listen but a more consistently cohesive listen. When listening to BTC, it’s all about anticipating “Nobody”, and how that plays into the album. I listen to that album, absolutely adore that song, and think the rest of the album works extremely well as a project; but, I can’t help but feel like nothing quite tops that song.
Here, Mitski is consistently throwing out high-caliber songs that are not only addictively catchy but meaningful in both their unique composition and lyrical content.
The three-song run of “Heat Lightning”, “The Only Heartbreaker”, and “Love Me More” is an absolute powerhouse. The first track of this run is more melancholy in both its production and what Mitski is saying, while the second track finds Mitski in a state of self-awareness over an extremely intoxicating mix of 80s synths. We round this trio out with the very catchy earworm of “Love Me More”, and again with the blasphemy, I honestly prefer “The Only Heartbreaker” and I’m NOT sorry about it.
More so on this album than BTC, I feel the production is really turned up to eleven. Everything Mitski is saying is just further emphasized by all the incredibly dense choices being made. “Should’ve Been Me” is an apology that feels so heartfelt and warranted, but the poppy production is almost distracting in the best way possible.
This is rounded out by a very prominent outro in “That’s Our Lamp”, it’s conclusive in its statements, and feels as if it loops back around to the intro in a way that I feel all albums should employ in their practice.
Yeah, this was a lot of fun to both listen to and revisit for round two. If I had to introduce Mitski to someone, I think this would be the album I would choose. It’s short, it’s sweet, and it’s definitely going to be on people’s best of the year lists when 2022 is finally over.
8/10
Personal Favorites:
Stay Soft
Heat Lightning
The Only Heartbreaker
Should’ve Been Me
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