A Love Letter to Laurel Hell
Image Courtesy: NME Magazine Asia
After announcing her hiatus from music in 2019, Mitski has soared back into the spotlight with the release of her sixth album, Laurel Hell.
Laurel Hell is a bittersweet, synth-pop ode to the complicated intertwining of artists’ vulnerability and obligation to their art.
This album is a huge leap in a new direction for an artist usually accredited for her more solemn melodies and melancholic chords. However, the cheerful orchestration of Laurel Hell does not drown out the poignant messages within each song. Both Mitski’s stylistic versatility and transparency as a lyricist shine through her work on this album, inviting listeners in on the secret of the broken love affair between herself and the music industry.
Mitski has a reputation for exploring difficult topics within her music. In her fourth album Puberty 2’s “Best American Girl”, she sings about her upbringing as a Japanese-American woman creating a divide between herself and a potential lover. In Bury Me at Makeout Creek‘s “I Will”, Mitski writes herself a love song of words she wished other people would say to her.
This album proves no exception. The open storytelling and distinctive voice within Laurel Hell makes it an album necessary to pay attention to and easy to appreciate. Despite the change in sound, there has not been a change in heart at the core of Mitski’s artistry. She remains as powerful as ever.
Image Courtesy: The Guardian
Laurel Hell begins with “Valentine, Texas”, a song that excellently introduces the concept for the entire album. Repeating lyrics that ask the question, “who will I become tonight?”, Mitski is contemplating her resurgence into an industry that she was determined to leave behind only a few years prior. Midway through the song, which starts low and quiet, the backing synth erupts and pulls listeners into a powerful whirlwind of almost foreboding sound.
Mitski has described her newest album as “a soundtrack for transformation”. After her tour in 2019, Mitski intended to end her career as a music artist indefinitely. She said that the music industry was “shaving away” her soul piece by piece. An obligation to her record label, Dead Oceans, led to the production of Laurel Hell.
“Working for the Knife”, Mitski’s first single from this album, explores similar themes in which the metaphorical knife is an oppressive force such as the music industry. She described the song to Rolling Stone as representing a period of time between growing up and becoming an adult with a job, and getting lost somewhere in the middle. Exploring the difficulties of growing up is a common theme throughout all of Mitski’s albums.
Unlike much of Mitski’s previous discography, a good majority of the songs on Laurel Hell will make people want to get up and dance. Songs like “Stay Soft” and “Should’ve Been Me” pair heartbreakingly earnest lyrics with 80’s-inspired beats that’ll get people on their feet. This technique of matching energetic beats with heavy lyrics is used by a lot of different artists, and is also executed well in “Nobody”, one of Mitski’s standout songs from 2018’s Be the Cowboy. While much of Mitski’s past albums have categorized her as an indie-rock artist, Laurel Hell proved that even after all these years, she has found a way to make her sound new and exciting yet again.
However, there are still songs like “I Guess” that seem to pay homage to the 2010s Mitski sound we all know best. “There’s Nothing Left for You”, a song about having nothing left to offer a past lover, can also be related to Mitski’s struggles to continue with music, feeling she has nothing left to give as an artist without losing her own sense of feeling.
Mitski also holds a strong reputation for creating some of the most heartbreaking and powerful album endings. Songs like “A Burning Hill”, from Puberty 2 and “Class of 2013” from Retired from Sad, New Career in Business are some of the most tragically beautiful pieces of art in Mitski’s discography.
“A Burning Hill” examines both self-destruction and searching for a sense of fulfillment. Describing herself as both the forest and a spreading wildfire, Mitski sings about feeling like a bystander in her own life. Not sure how to escape these circumstances, she continues to cycle through her everyday routine and tries to appreciate “the littler things”.
“Class of 2013”, written while Mitski was studying at SUNY Purchase, conveys the worries and regrets of a graduate being pushed quickly into the adult world. Wanting to go back to a time when she was young in her mother’s arms, Mitski asks listeners a question burning in the minds of many - “can I dream for a few months more?”.
“That’s Our Lamp” kept this tradition burning bright in a different sense.
An upbeat symphony of synth and strings, “That’s Our Lamp” acts as a wistful goodbye between star-crossed lovers. Mitski uses the symbolic lamp as a representation of the place where she used to feel at home, repeating “that’s where you loved me” as the song fades away. While this song is much more upbeat that Mitski’s previous album closers, the overarching themes remain the same - a desperate longing to hold onto the past while wondering about what comes next. This song holds extra weight as a farewell since it’s uncertain where Mitski plans to take her career from this point on.
If there’s anything Mitski isn't - it’s conventional. She is always experimenting and using her life experience to make her art as honest as possible. Laurel Hell’s dissonant chords and energetic beats provide listeners with a fun experience that will leave them wanting more. Although this album is a completely new sound that many did not expect from Mitski, it serves as a fresh new take on some of the more important themes within Mitski’s work - navigating love, forgiveness, societal expectations and self-acceptance. Mitski’s biggest fans and newest listeners can each find a piece of themselves within the world of Laurel Hell.
Strike Out,
Writer: Gabby Macogay
Copy Editors: Theo Skinner and Peyton Boudreaux
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