From Creative Commons License

Singer-songwriter Mitski released her newest album The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We on September 15th . Mitski released the first single for the album “Bug Like an Angel” on July 26th, making fans anticipate her new album release. Followed by two more singles, “Star” and “Heaven” on August 23rd, before finally releasing the album. 

The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We is Mitski’s 7th studio album. She has seen huge success before, her 6th album Laurel Hell being her most successful album to date, peaking at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. Though her older work was what drew most long-term fans in. Fans love her raw and emotional indie rock sound, and her lyrics that speak to so many people’s life experiences. 

The album lives up to expectations, keeping with her melancholy sound and filled with stories expressing her personal feelings. Mitski has spoken about how she uses characters and exaggerated stories to explain her very real life. Stories that so many people across the world see themselves in, and the reason so many people feel so connected to her music. 

“Sometimes fiction or made-up stories is actually the best path towards speaking some sort of personal truth. So I am all of these characters. In my mind, all of these songs are true in essence,” Mitski told NPR news in a September 19, 2023 interview. “But I’m just putting it through a character that doesn’t exist or a narrative that didn’t happen because that happens to be the best way to express how I really feel,” 

The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We opens with the single “Bug Like An Angel”, a now familiar start to the album. It’s a poetic song about self-destruction. Mitski sings about feeling stuck but never trying to move forward. Making promises she knows she can never keep up. Self-destruction is spoken about many times throughout the album, a strong example of this is in “I Don’t Like My Mind”. She sings about how she feels her mind is always trying to sabotage her, and her unhealthy coping mechanisms to try and make herself feel better. 

The second track, “Buffalo Replaced”, is one of my personal favorites on the album. Mitski sings about her fear of being replaced, like a buffalo being replaced by a freight train. The song also brings back the themes of self-destruction we see all across the album. She sings “Mosquitos can enjoy me, i cant go inside”. She uses bug metaphors to describe how she lets people use her. The instrumental is another thing about the song that caught my attention, an acoustic guitar is played instead of the piano we hear on the rest of the album. It makes the song really stand out to me. 

After only a week of release, there is already one song rising in popularity. “My Love Mine All Mine” has quickly become a favorite amongst fans. The beautiful instrumental and vocals are accompanied by lyrics about longing and love that many find incredibly relatable to their own lives. She sings about how her love is entirely her own, and how it’s the most beautiful thing in her life. She uses the moon to represent her longing to send her love to someone. It’s a beautiful and emotional song that has already helped the album reach a wider audience. 

The album comes to a close with “I Love Me After You”, a very emotional slow song that brings in all the themes we’ve seen across the record. She sings about how she puts herself second, how she loves herself after everyone else. The song starts off very slow, with a calm instrumental and vocals. Halfway through her vocals become drowned out as the instrumentals become increasingly louder, leaving only her humming in the background. With 20 seconds left the instrumental cuts off, leaving the listener sitting in silence. 

The album is perfect for anyone who enjoys sorrowful indie rock music. It’s a powerful record full of songs for a variety of audiences, and a perfect addition to Mitski’s discography. The mix of sorrowful piano and passionate vocals give the songs so much weight. You can really feel her emotions through her music, and especially if you see yourself in her words. The album does not disappoint, and I can definitely see it drawing new people into Mitski’s music as well as pleasing long-time fans of her music.

Here is my initial album ranking after a week of release:

1. Buffalo Replaced
2. My Love Mine All Mine
3. When Memories Snow
4. The Frost
5. Heaven
6. The Deal
7. Bug Like An Angel
8. I Don’t Like My Mind
9. Star
10. I Love Me After You
11. I’m Your Man