Image Description: An image of Mitski, singer-songwriter behind Laurel Hell.
Two weeks ago, singer-songwriter Mitski released her latest studio album Laurel Hell following an âindefinite hiatusâ. In October 2021, millions of sad girls around the world (myself included) were overjoyed by the sudden reactivation of her social media to announce a new album and the release of its lead single âWorking for the Knifeâ. Since then, she has been releasing one song from the album along with a video monthly before its full release on February 4th. This article will attempt to do justice to Mitskiâs Laurel Hell.Â
According to Mitski, the title comes from a term in the Southern Appalachians where laurel bushes grow so thick that people have supposedly gotten stuck and died in them.
She explained the appeal of this dark imagery in an interview on Apple Music 1: â[L]aurel flowers are so pretty⌠I liked the notion of being stuck inside this explosion of flowers and perhaps even dying within one of them.â
The juxtaposition of pain and beauty is a common theme in Mitskiâs music. Behind gorgeous lyrics, melodies, and visuals lay heart-breaking emotions. The album includes âlove songs about real relationshipsâ but also songs which may be addressing Mitskiâs own relationship with music and the industry. Although she had written most of the songs by 2018, she finished mixing them in 2021. This is the longest time she has spent on a record. The pandemic has also ended up affecting the form and meanings of many tracks on Laurel Hell.
In the first song âValentine, Texasâ, Mitski creates a powerful image in the opening line: âLetâs step carefully into the dark.â As we enter a new stage of her life and career, Mitski returns to the public world. This is described as âdarkâ â she does not know where life might take her, and whether making music again is the right decision. The song resonates with its listeners too: after a period of so much uncertainty, the world may never be the same again, and weâll never know what to expect from now on.
Next is âWorking for the Knifeâ, in which Mitski reflects on being a child with big dreams and realising that the real world is not so idealistic. She compares capitalism and societyâs standards to a knife, criticising the fact that we are often forced to leave behind our hopes, interests, and humanity in order to work for profit. Here Mitski may be referring to her own career, indicating that there are things she would have liked to create but couldnât in order to appeal to her audience and sell music. This cynical but very realistic message is presented in a loosely structured song accompanied by bold synth notes and an expressive music video.
The albumâs mood appears to pick up with the sensual and suggestive âStay Softâ, full of double entendres. Initially written as a rock song, Mitski said that the dark, sexual lyrics felt too dramatic, so opted for an uplifting dance beat to sing about an unhealthy relationship between people trying to make sense of their pain and trauma.
In âEveryoneâ, Mitski continues the theme of her musical career. âEveryone said, âDonât go that wayâ/ So, of course, to that, I said/ âI think Iâll go that wayâ – here she sings about lacking support at the start of her career, which only fuelled her defiance. Later on, she realised how difficult it is to survive in the world of music: âI didnât know what it would take.â Again, she uses âthe darkâ as a metaphor for the music industry and the uncertainty of her career. Before the release of this album, it was unsure whether she would ever make music again, and with this song she reflects on the price of fame.
âHeat Lightningâ is a ballad inspired by The Velvet Underground in which a dark, sultry instrumental accompanies lyrics about insomnia and its implications. Mitski feels helpless in the face of anxiety, so she lets her thoughts take over: âAnd there’s nothing I can do, not much I can change/ So I give it up to you, I hope that’s okay.â The song is riddled with rich imagery about beautiful heat lightning, which is actually a metaphor for her pain, comparing anxiety to a storm which she cannot prevent from taking over.
Next is âThe Only Heartbreakerâ, another synth-heavy, 80s-inspired dance track about feeling like the bad one in a relationship and wishing that the other person could mess up just once in order to make Mitski feel better. She feels as if she is not good enough for her partner, but at the same time she is the only one trying to make their relationship work: âI’ll be the water main that’s burst and flooding/ You’ll be by the window, only watching.â In the music video, Mitski dances as she watches the world burn around her, presenting the idea of self-sabotage and being a bystander in your own life.
âLove Me Moreâ is one of my favourite tracks on the album, in terms of both instrumentals and lyrics. Lines such as âIf I keep myself at home/ I wonât make the same mistakeâ as well as the overall theme of isolation and living a boring, monotonous life, became even more relevant in the context of the pandemic, which is why Mitski chose to leave them in. This song could also be about the constant need for validation from someone else – because Mitski is unable to love herself, she needs external affection.
The final four songs on the album send the listener on an emotional rollercoaster. âThereâs Nothing Left for Youâ and âI Guessâ are classic Mitski-esque sad songs which remind me of her 2013 album Retired from Sad, New Career in Business. The former is a heart-wrenching ballad about feeling like she has nothing left to give â possibly in a relationship, or to the music industry. The latter could be about grieving a failed relationship and introspection after a breakup, contemplating how to move on.
âShouldâve Been Meâ and âThatâs Our Lampâ sound much happier, but in typical Mitski fashion, present sad stories. âShouldâve Been Meâ features a funky bass line over which she sings about a relationship in which she was emotionally unavailable: âI haven’t given you what you need/ You wanted me, but couldn’t reach meâ, so her partner tried to find another to replace her. I canât help but connect this song to âWashing Machine Heartâ from Mitskiâs previous album, in which the partner sees her as somebody else to fulfil their emotional needs, whilst she pretends not to notice. It seems to me that both songs could be different perspectives from the same love triangle.
The album concludes with âThatâs Our Lampâ, a bright tune about a relationship that has fizzled out. Mitski reminisces about the happy times whilst grieving love that has now been lost. It is a somewhat unusual way to end the album, but does sound like a goodbye. âWe may be ending/ I’m standing in the darkâ makes one final reference to the theme of darkness, as Mitski expresses the loneliness she now feels, but potentially also the uncertainty of her career.
Mitski is an extremely private person, so we rarely know who or what exactly might have moved her to write such sad lyrics. This means that her music can be very ambiguous. However, songs with multiple or unknown messages make them even more personal to the listener, who can create their own meaning.
I too listen to some songs and take them so personally that I feel as if Mitski herself has looked into my mind and created the perfect song to encompass my emotions. That is the beauty of her music, and while she reminds her fans constantly that we do no not truly know her, there is something really comforting about feeling deeply understood.
What will Mitski do next? Currently preparing to embark on a world tour, many claim that the artist has âmade itâ in music, having gained fiercely devoted fans who appreciate and understand her music. In Laurel Hell, Mitski expresses mixed feelings about her career and what the future may hold.
Image Credits: David Lee from wikimedia.org