Album Review: Mitski — Nothing’s About to Happen to Me

Photo Credit: Lexie Alley

Review by Ava Wiseley

Beloved indie rock artist Mitski is back with her 8th studio album, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me.”

Released on Feb. 27, the title of the record feels self-referential at times — some of the songs meander so much that it feels as though “nothing’s about to happen” to them.

It does feel like a classic Mitski record, though. It fits in nicely with her other projects — her staple lyrics full of yearning and angst are there, and her haunting melodies are perhaps more present than ever. She explores new instrumentation on this album, too.

The opening track, “In a Lake,” is arguably one of the best on the album, with some of her most touching lyrics to date. She describes living in a small town, “Where you never get away from your first love / It’s like one brand of soap’s sold in town / ‘Cause anyone you can get close to / Smells like your first time around.”

The track later explodes in volume with traffic sounds and powerful drums. Its only downfall is its placement at the front of the album, because it leaves the listener unable to find something quite as satisfying later on.

“Cats” sets the main sonic theme of the album, which feels like a blend between 2023’s steel guitar and string-infused “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We” and the slower shoegaze-like tracks on 2016’s “Puberty 2.”

“Cats” also introduces one of the album’s main themes, which is insecurity within relationships. Mitski sings, “So I’ve been trying to stop trying / To be like someone you’d still like / Maybe if I could, you already would.”

But melodically, “Cats” is relatively uninteresting. “Instead of Here,” “Charon’s Obol,” and “Dead Women” fall to the same fate.

Some melodies do feel like they would grow on the listener with time — they’re repetitive, but what’s being repeated is interesting. “If I Leave,” “Lightning,” and lead single “Where’s My Phone” exemplify this — the latter especially, in which the melody works with the repetitive lyrics to create a feeling of anxiety.

“Where did it go? Where’s my phone? Where’s my phone? Where did I leave? Where’d I go?” she sings.

One of the record’s main successes is its instrumentation. Piano, strings and flute glisten on “I’ll Change for You,” a bossa nova-inspired track that advances the theme of letting relationships influence your identity. She sings, “I’ll do anything for you to love me again / If you don’t like me now / I will change for you.”

Two other interesting production choices are the bell-like synth that adds a sparkle to the outro of “Dead Women” and a Sufjan Stevens-esque choral element on “That White Cat.”

And “Rules” features a saxophone and clarinet duet in the middle of the song. This track is another of the album’s high points. The jolly melody and instrumentation contrast against the lyrics, where she sings about becoming somebody else and leaving her body. It’s reminiscent of “Nobody” on 2018’s “Be the Cowboy.”

Ultimately, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” is an album for the fans.

It’s unlikely that any of its tracks will receive the same treatment as “My Love Mine All Mine,” a track from her previous album that has 1 billion streams on Spotify. There simply isn’t anything as catchy or accessible on this new project.

But she’s succeeded in maintaining a consistent lyrical theme across this album and her discography. And sonically, as it draws on many past concepts, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” has something for every Mitski fan.

Maybe the album title would be better interpreted as her telling us that she’ll continue to make music like this for the foreseeable future. It would be nice if the next album could meander a bit less, but there’s no doubt that the diehards will be satisfied regardless.