Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

Mitski excels at crafting music that strikes at humanity’s deepest dissatisfactions and frustrations; her songs from her eclectic indie rock albums to her latest project are filled with yearning.

I caught up with this musician at her rehearsal space before she embarked on her inaugural headlining tour since 2018’s critically acclaimed Be the Cowboy album release. She was gracious and open, never declining to answer my queries.

The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

Mitski has returned after an extended hiatus that included touring and TikTok appearance, unveiling her seventh album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. Taking an American approach, its sound features western-tinged songs with references to freight trains and buffalo stampedes.

Mitski at her most compelling and provocative. Though still carrying that coquette/housewife dichotomy from 2022’s Laurel Hell, this music feels much more grounded and honest when Mitski addresses her own discomfort with fame and its consequences.

Bug Like an Angel sets the scene for this record with its twangy guitar chords and echoy vocals that create an irresistibly charming atmosphere. Patrick Hyland’s production further enhances her lyrics, moving seamlessly from indie rock squallings to quiet ballads suitable for contemporary soundtracks – an album you can listen to again and again with each listen.

Bug Like an Angel

Mitski stands out among contemporary indie-rock acts by having an indefatigable grasp on her audience: an enthusiastic mix of female adolescent-to-adult Asian Americans ages 16-30 who cheer enthusiastically during shows and remain attentively tuned-in on Twitter for every tweet she sends out. And while her love songs may often depict intimacy as unattainable or impossible to attain, Mitski masterfully turns these lowest lows into beautiful moments of grace and wonderment.

Mitski’s music provides the soundtrack of loneliness and brokenness, featuring simple instruments complemented by cinematic choir vocals that conjure an aura of church. On “Bug Like an Angel”, an impactful gospel choir supports her soft vocals as she regretfully laments having made promises she cannot keep.

Ashworth knows how to bring joy and encouragement to her audiences through the artists she invites on tour. Recently she invited Japanese Breakfast and Jay Som, two female bandleaders who front their own bands–two artists of color–to open her shows. Ashworth states she is very selective when selecting openers, trying to choose those that will enrich her personally, financially and professionally.

I’m Your Man

Mitski operates with remarkable grace for someone who has endured so much in her life. On both days I witnessed her rehearsal, she generously passed around a piece of chocolate cake and was always kind and friendly with both bandmates and crew members.

Mitski began touring relentlessly after Pitchfork named Be the Cowboy their best album of 2018, touring from college coffeehouses all the way through stadium venues where Lorde would perform. Her complex compositions subvert the pop textbook into something knotty and intimate.

On tour, she has collaborated with choreographer Monica Mirabile to craft movement inspired by Butoh – a Japanese performance art that emphasizes unsettling internal emotions through precise and unsettling gestures – while exploring female archetypes such as coquette, housewife and femme fatale in an engaging show that feels less like concert than theatrical spectacle.

Ashworth says she takes great care in selecting her tour openers, seeking women and people of color as openers who will “uplift them personally, financially, and professionally”.

Star

Mitski’s songs capture the existential anxiety that has become such a cultural obsession among young women – an emotion celebrated on shows like Broad City and Girls. She’s an exceptionally talented singer, known for creating beauty from chaos; and often her lyrics reveal an almost spiritual depth that renders her almost mythic status.

She is also an adept performer who knows how to capture an audience with movements that bridge both physical and digital realms. Her shows are not simply musical performances; rather they feature dancers reenacting female archetypes onstage while she sings.

She graduated from SUNY Purchase‘s conservatory, using her education in music composition to break new ground with pop songs. Lush and Retired from Sad, New Career in Business were released during her junior and senior years as end-of-term projects; for the latter project she collaborated with a 60-piece student orchestra.