.png)
Mitski, for those who don’t know, is a Japanese American musician. You may know her for her popular songs like “Washing Machine Heart” or “Nobody”. I personally have been listening to Mitski since my friend introduced her to me in 2020. I even went to see her in concert last year! She is not only a music artist, but a performer as well and has such a unique voice and overall recognizable melodies. This is a review of her newest album “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We”. She describes it as her “Most American album” where the "music feels like a profound act of witnessing this country, in all its private sorrows and contradictions”. You can find out more about the description of this album in her bio on Spotify. These are all the songs on the album and my personal thoughts on each song. Quick note, this is me just giving my silly descriptions of the songs and what it sounds to me, so don’t take my words too seriously, this is all for good fun! :)
Bug like an Angel
I love her use of guitar in this album, it is used for somber, melancholy melodies while also being able to portray much more ethereal, dramatic melodies. I love the use of a choir at the most important lyrics, truly makes the song special.
Buffalo Replaced
This one specializes in drums and guitar notably. I like how she has such a soft tone with the loud instruments, very much emphasizes on the melody rather than the lyrics.
Heaven
Blown away. This may be my favorite song in the album. The tone of this album very much gives southern blues. It also incorporates more modern-toned melodies. It blends so well with her vocals. This song really does remind me of angelic, heaven-like. Such an orchestrated ending, truly beautiful.
I Don’t Like My Mind
This one is very emotional, her tone and vocals in this are much stronger than in the other songs we have heard at this point.
The Deal
I can’t describe how this song makes me feel. Such a soft vocals with heavy, emotional instrumentals, but it then slows back down. I love the buildup/slow down of this song, really emphasizes the emotion she is conveying. At the end, it builds up again and it is much stronger and really blows me away.
When Memories Snow
This reminds me a lot of Puberty 2 Mitski. Her vocals are much more “commanding” I feel. Not much to say about this song, short and gets to the point.
My Love Mine All Mine
I will take it back. This is probably my favorite track in the album. This sounds like a lullaby, very blue and slow. She is vocalizing very soft and very calming. This is a song I could (and probably will) cry to, tbh.
The Frost
Very strong use of guitars in this one, this one also reminds me of an “older sounding” Mitski. Slower, but calming. This is just a nice song to listen to.
Star- Wow. I love, love, love this song. It is created with such an ethereal orchestra and with beautiful vocals. The buildup of the ending is like “The Deal” The beginning of harp and slowly builds up to the end. The end is unreal, I feel like I am floating on a star in space.
I’m Your Man
Very mundane, low song. I can’t quite put my finger on how it is composed, but it is cold-like guitars and vocals. (You can notice I just make up things in my head and hope you understand what I mean) I like the use of dog noises in the song, it goes very well with the lyrics and overall meaning.
I Love Me After You
Such an emotional song for an ending to the album. Mitski incorporates the buildups of instrumentals in her songs, and she does it so well throughout the well. This song doesn’t say a lot but says so much at the same time. A great ending for this album.
Ending thoughts
No surprise, I absolutely loved this album. I know I didn’t touch on the meaning of the lyrics in each of the songs, but that is the thing I love about Mitski. She puts so much effort and meaning into her songs and creates something so unique that it feels like it is up to the listener to find their own emotions in her songs.
I truly love that Mitski has not changed her unique sense of music-composition, if you ever play any song by her, she is so recognizable it is truly amazing. This album blew me away. It sounds like Mitski in every beautiful way possible. I am truly amazed by her, and I am so happy she continues to make such impactful and unique music. She is one of my favorite artists, and I am glad I got to talk about her and this album :)
Thank you for reading!
Comments