By Melinda Kern
Elm Staff Writer
Mitski recently released her haunting eighth studio album, “Nothing’s About to Happen To Me” on Friday, Feb. 27.
Mitski crafts a story of a lonely woman that finds solace in their unkept house and acts strangely when she is outside. The album also addresses the persistent longing the woman has for a toxic unrequited relationship.
According to Vulture, “[The album is] largely inspired by horror-mystery writer Shirley Jackson’s 1962 novel ‘We Have Always Lived in a Castle,’ a tale of sisters who’ve been ostracized by their community after the rest of their family dies suspiciously of poisoning.”
The woman experiences similar ostracization when she meets people in the city that she moves to in the first song, “In a Lake.” The messiness and haunted feeling of the house can be found throughout the lyrics of many of the songs.
The character of the haunted and lonely woman also comes through in Mitski’s musical genre choices and in many of the contents of her songs. For example, in the song “Dead Woman,” the woman reflects on how her unrequited lover would rather see her dead at the bottom of a lake than to be with her.
According to AP, “She again blends Americana and alt-rock with meticulous orchestral and choral arrangements… from lonesome despair to horror. In her telling, haunter and haunted are often one in the same “
Other than the toxic relationship, the woman’s only attachment is to her cats; she is a hermit who only leaves the house for work because she needs to feed her cats. Mitski emphasizes the unkept house through discussing the many other creatures that live there beyond the woman.
“Gotta go to work/ To pay for that cat’s house/ For the red-corseted wasp/ Who lives in the roof/ For the family of possums/ For the bugs who drink my blood/ And the birds who eat those bugs,” Mitski sings in “The White Cat.”
Some critics have proposed that the album may be about Mitski’s desire to maintain anonymity and solace in her daily life while being a well-known singer with lots of unwanted attention, as well as the struggle of existential thoughts during and following the end of a relationship.
According to The Guardian, “Mitski’s relationship with celebrity is fraught… [however] the album’s yearning for anonymity and solitude seems to have less to do with fame than a failing relationship, its awkward silences.”
Despite the potential connections, the album focuses more on the character and story that Mitski is building than her current personal life. Regardless of whether this is a persona, the character is inherently different from that Mitski herself.
Mitski continues to explore heartache and complicated feelings through this newest album. Conceptually and lyrically deep, the album is worth a listen for fans of Gothic literature and alternative indie music lovers.
Photo Caption: Mitski is known for her songs exploring themes of loneliness.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons