{"id":53199,"date":"2026-03-03T12:28:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=53199"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:28:22","slug":"album-review-mitski-nothings-about-to-happen-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2026\/03\/03\/album-review-mitski-nothings-about-to-happen-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Mitski \u2014 Nothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Lexie Alley<\/span><\/p>\n

Review by Ava Wiseley<\/span><\/p>\n

Beloved indie rock artist Mitski is back with her 8th studio album, \u201cNothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Released on Feb. 27, the title of the record feels self-referential at times \u2014 some of the songs meander so much that it feels as though \u201cnothing\u2019s about to happen\u201d to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

It does feel like a classic Mitski record, though. It fits in nicely with her other projects \u2014 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening track, \u201cIn a Lake,\u201d 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, \u201cWhere you never get away from your first love \/ It\u2019s like one brand of soap\u2019s sold in town \/ \u2018Cause anyone you can get close to \/ Smells like your first time around.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCats\u201d sets the main sonic theme of the album, which feels like a blend between 2023\u2019s steel guitar and string-infused \u201cThe Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We\u201d and the slower shoegaze-like tracks on 2016\u2019s \u201cPuberty 2.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCats\u201d also introduces one of the album\u2019s main themes, which is insecurity within relationships. Mitski sings, \u201cSo I’ve been trying to stop trying \/ To be like someone you’d still like \/ Maybe if I could, you already would.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But melodically, \u201cCats\u201d is relatively uninteresting. \u201cInstead of Here,\u201d \u201cCharon\u2019s Obol,\u201d and \u201cDead Women\u201d fall to the same fate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some melodies do feel like they would grow on the listener with time \u2014 they\u2019re repetitive, but what\u2019s being repeated is interesting. \u201cIf I Leave,\u201d \u201cLightning,\u201d and lead single \u201cWhere\u2019s My Phone\u201d exemplify this \u2014 the latter especially, in which the melody works with the repetitive lyrics to create a feeling of anxiety.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did it go? Where\u2019s my phone? Where\u2019s my phone? Where did I leave? Where\u2019d I go?\u201d she sings.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the record\u2019s main successes is its instrumentation. Piano, strings and flute glisten on \u201cI\u2019ll Change for You,\u201d a bossa nova-inspired track that advances the theme of letting relationships influence your identity. She sings, \u201cI\u2019ll do anything for you to love me again \/ If you don\u2019t like me now \/ I will change for you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Two other interesting production choices are the bell-like synth that adds a sparkle to the outro of \u201cDead Women\u201d and a Sufjan Stevens-esque choral element on \u201cThat White Cat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And \u201cRules\u201d features a saxophone and clarinet duet in the middle of the song. This track is another of the album\u2019s high points. The jolly melody and instrumentation contrast against the lyrics, where she sings about becoming somebody else and leaving her body. It\u2019s reminiscent of \u201cNobody\u201d on 2018\u2019s \u201cBe the Cowboy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cNothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me\u201d is an album for the fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that any of its tracks will receive the same treatment as \u201cMy Love Mine All Mine,\u201d a track from her previous album that has 1 billion streams on Spotify. There simply isn\u2019t anything as catchy or accessible on this new project.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she\u2019s succeeded in maintaining a consistent lyrical theme across this album and her discography. And sonically, as it draws on many past concepts, \u201cNothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me\u201d has something for every Mitski fan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe the album title would be better interpreted as her telling us that she\u2019ll 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\u2019s no doubt that the diehards will be satisfied regardless.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Lexie Alley Review by Ava Wiseley Beloved indie rock artist Mitski is back with her 8th studio album, \u201cNothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me.\u201d Released on Feb. 27, the title of the record feels self-referential at times \u2014 some of the songs meander so much that it feels as though \u201cnothing\u2019s about to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25732,"featured_media":53200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1524,1523,15],"tags":[157,527,2666],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53199"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25732"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53201,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53199\/revisions\/53201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}