Image adapted from photo by David Lee / Flickr

On Sept. 15, Mitski released her seventh album “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” patiently awaited by Mitski listeners since the release of her single “Bug Like an Angel ” in July.  

Mitski leans into a folk-country sound mixed with echoes of her hallmark electronic style in this record, reminiscent of her album “Laurel Hell.”  However, this album has a more acoustic, somber sound, matching her skillfully poetic and introspective style of writing. It’s a beautifully sad listen, and with the stark mix of genres and nearly perfect writing, it may be one of the best alternative albums released this year. 

Mitski has mastered the art of beautiful, gut-wrenching lyricism. This record pairs the wistful, solemn tone of her lyrics with its sound masterfully, contrasting with Mitski’s past high-energy, electronic pieces. It’s an album to listen and let go to – with so many complex topics covered, it has a healing property to it. 

Mitski posted a video to her Instagram Sept. 18 explaining that the second song off the record, “Buffalo Replaced” was a “guide or reference” for the rest of the production of the album. The low, chugging guitar, fluttering synth and lyrics like “Fireflies zoomin’ through the yard like highway cars” and “Freight train horn howlin’ out mad and wild / Headin’ somewhere far away like the new buffalo replaced,” gives scenery of a desolate countryside and is an accurate tone-setter for the record. 

“Bug Like an Angel,” the first single off the album, touches on addiction and the desire to change. It deals with the hopelessness of mentally hitting rock bottom, but something about the delightfully haunting choir vocals adds a spiritual, hopeful aspect to this song. The lines “I try to remember the wrath of the devil / Was also given him by God” conveys that goodness and hope can exist in spite of dark times.

The second to last track “I’m Your Man” may have the most depressing writing and production on the album. The song features muddy guitar strumming with a classical choir melody overlaid and sound bites of fighting dogs in order to create a delicately haunting song.  

The final lines “You believe me like a god / I’ll betray you like a man” drive home the dreadful feeling of loving someone. After the last line is sung, the barking becomes more and more audible, and the choir sings a sweetly simple melody. The song leaves the listener to meditate on her heart-rending writing. She brings light to the perspective of deeply loving someone while dealing with the chaos and uncertainty of it all, a feeling the emotionally sensitive and anxious know all too well.

For me, a new Mitski fan, this album has no skips. I regret not diving into her discography sooner. She knows how to tackle the experience of being mentally-ill and being a Japanese-American woman because of her own experience at the intersection of all three of these identities. 

Her insight is so valuable, and her intelligent writing cuts through to the most complex feelings – in my eyes, she’s a genius. Mitski has helped so many people deal with difficult, nuanced feelings and serves as a special voice in the indie-alternative world. 

When I listen to “The Land is Inhospitable and So are We,” I can see Mitski on horseback at sunset, dressed in her full black and blue cowboy getup like in her music video for “Working for the Knife.” 

In this record, she is the cowboy. 

Edited by Alex Goldstein | agoldstein@themaneater.comCopy Edited by Emma Short and Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com