Mitski announces upcoming album Laurel Hell
She also shared the second single off the LP, "The Only Heartbreaker"
Mitski announced her return last month, marking the end of her hiatus with the release of “Working For The Knife.” Fans were eager to find out if—and when—a Mitski record was arriving, ready to usher us into the new phase of the savant’s illustrious career. Her fervent fanbase can rest easy now: Mitski’s next album, Laurel Hell, arrives on February 4 via Dead Oceans.
To mark this news, Mitski released new single “The Only Heartbreaker.” It’s a synth-heavy song that starkly contrasts previous single “Working For The Knife,” with an ‘80s pop-inspired sound that’s ripe for dancing and singing along to. In the press release, Mitski teased that this album will “be more uptempo and dance-y” because she “needed to create something that was also a pep talk.”
Some of Mitski’s best songwriting moments come when she’s tackling heartache, and as the song’s title suggests, Mitski still carries her innate ability to craft resonant relationship tracks in her new era. But this time, instead of being the one desolate over the dissolution of her love, she’s the one in control: “If you would just make one mistake/What a relief that would be/But I think for as long as we’re together/I’ll be the only heartbreaker.”
She explains:
“I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost. I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself, I make mistakes all the time. I don’t want to put on a front where I’m a role model, but I’m also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that gray area.”
In the music video, Mitski finds herself in an enchanted forest. But everything she touches wilts and perishes. It’s her way of playing up the contrast of the peppy musicality with the brutally honest lyrics about relationship worries. So, while the songs may sound joyful, Mitski doesn’t seem ready to shy away from dark imagery anytime soon.
Mitski also shared the tracklist for the Laurel Hell, so now it’s time for fans to spend too much time theorizing what each song is about. There are two songs that reference lights (“Heat Lighting” and “That’s Our Lamp”), if that means anything. Take a look below.
Laurel Hell Tracklist:
1. Valentine, Texas
2. Working For The Knife
3. Stay Soft
4. Everyone
5. Heat Lighting
6. The Only Heartbreaker
7. Love Me More
8. There’s Nothing Left For You
9. Should’ve Been Me
10. I Guess
11. That’s Our Lamp