Mitski’s new album "Laurel Hell" warns of the pitfalls that are inherent in the pursuit of love. It’s not a new theme but her instrumentation has become more synth and keyboard driven leading to bright shimmering songs with dark undertones.

A laurel hell literally is defined as a section of interwined branches, twigs and bushes of a mountain laurel, beautiful in sight but poisonous and impossible to pass through. Mitski plays off that comparison exploring the dynamics involved in releationships.

The album almost didn’t happen. After her breakthrough release of 2018 she began to drop hints she was through with the music business. This album finds her rediscovering the magic and even touching on her near departure in some of the songs.

Mitski acknowledges that the lyrics might be depressing but the music was peppy enough to get her through the experiences the songs address leading to a brooding yet uplifting album.

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