Mitski - 'Nothing's About to Happen to Me' Review
By Justin Sanders
Japanese American singer-songwriter, Mitski has released her long-awaited 8th studio album “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me”. This follows her 2023 release “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We”, diving further into the folk influences seen previously. This is especially prevalent on the opening track a Lake feeling deeply inspired by folk legends such as Leonard Cohen, Tia Blake and Joni Mitchell. The track see’s Mitski lamenting on the end of a relationship, likening the feeling of missing this love and being constantly reminded of living in a small town that sells only one brand of soap and smelling it everywhere you go.
While throughout most of the record Mitski evolves deeper into her folk/americana sound, there are certain instances of very purposeful regression. Such as on track four ‘If I Leave’, which sounds exactly like a cut from her ‘Bury Me at Makeout Creek’ - ‘Puberty 2’ era of music, with her echoey vocals and the loud distorted guitar that kicks in toward the end of the song. This regression in sound could represent the feelings of going backwards that a deep sadness brings, with her breakup sending her back to some of the darkest moments of her career feeling deeply reminiscent of tracks like “I Don't Smoke” .
This record features wonderful songwriting, production and some truly beautiful string arrangements. However, it is probably Mitski's smallest step forward creatively between albums in around ten years. The album doesn't feel like much we haven’t already heard from her with the same degree of quality, with a lot of the songs feeling as though they could fit right at home on her 2023 release. This record also feels like the quietest release from Mitski, with very little in the way of distortion and the drums being quite low in the mix. While some have cited this a criticism of the album, I personally see no problem with it and feel as though it was a very purposeful creative choice. As Mitski herself ages and matures so does her approach to making music, going for more classic, laid-back textures and grown-up lyricism as opposed to the angsty loud sound of her early career, with only occasional relapse such as in the previously mentioned “If I Leave”.
Overall, Mitski’s “Nothing is About to Happen to Me” serves as a beautiful, thoughtful meditation on grief, loss and love, while not moving her sound forward much except from sanding out a few of the edges from her last album.
STRONG 7-LIGHT 8/10