Rest and retreating from the spotlight was perhaps the best course of action for Mitski in the long run. In the critical and pop culture conscious aftermath of Be the Cowboy and the Tik Tok stanification the reared its head at her shows in support of her Laurel Hell album cycle, it became clear that stardom was at odds with her creative nature, though her creative nature deserved to make her a star. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski’s seventh record, hears the enigmatic songwriter stepping into a more balanced presentation of her relationship with music that instead of focusing on the shininess of her craft when augmented through pop and synthetic realities, wanders and wonders under a weathered night sky that sounds more at home with her introverted being. The irony here is how it fashions more than ever with preconceived cowboyisms, musically at least, as its slowburn of guitars, stirring drums, and humble orchestral arrangements sway and slow waltz their way through a grandeur of country traditionalism — or as she calls it, her “most American album” — that partners well with Mitski’s half empty glasses searching for a fill from the the exhaustion of life and her radical search for love. In slowing down to feel it all, the spotlight shines brighter than ever on Mitski’s presence who remains a gravitational pull of emotion through song unmatched even at her most unassuming.

Highlights: “Heaven”, “The Deal”, “My Love All Mine”

Mitski’s The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is available now on Dead Oceans.

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