Album Review: Mitski - 'Laurel Hell'

Harry Styles is taking Mitski on the road as support next summer. And her first tour since 2019 sold out in minutes (including at date at Vicar Street, Dublin in March). The question her sixth album poses is whether fame is something to be embraced or feared. And it is that tumult of emotions – ambivalence is the prevailing mood – that makes Laurel Hell so striking. As a rummage through the hopes, fears and insecurities of a musician on the cusp of the big time, it’s fascinating. But it isn’t exactly a blockbuster and those coming to the record expecting a towering statement of intent risk being underwhelmed. This isn’t her Out Of Time or Boxer – more her New Adventures In Hi-Fi or I Am Easy To Find.

Still, there are moments when she connects effortlessly. On ‘Working For The Knife’ the Japanese-American artist builds her cautious lilt to a splintered snarl. Her indie ballad prowess is meanwhile confirmed on opener ‘Valentine, Texas’. This is a record at ease with reticence. The wonky and obscure ‘Love Me More’ and ‘There’s Nothing Left Here For You’ ask Mitski’s audience to consider what exactly it is they want from an alternative quasi-luminary spotlit for imminent hugeness. Mitski is absolutely fine being a cult artist, it would seem. Laurel Hell invites her fans to consider whether that’s something they might be okay with too.

Listen: 'Working For The Knife'
8/10

Out now via Dead Oceans/Gilded ALM.