Mitski’s New Album, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We, Might Be Her Best Yet

On September 15th, Mitski delivered another show-stopping album, The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. Mitski has referred to this album as her “most American”, and with fiddles, howling dogs, and lyrics referencing the Old West, it most certainly is. In possibly her most cohesive album yet, she returns to familiar feelings of melancholy and despair, but this time with an underlying feeling of love and hope. 

The album opens with “Bug Like an Angel” where Mitski discusses feelings of loneliness through her stark honesty: “As I got older, I learned I’m a drinker / Sometimes, a drink feels like family”. Mitski sings of struggles with alcoholism and “breaking promises.” However, she tries to justify alcoholism with the line “the wrath of the devil was also given him by God.” She’s saying that God created sin; it gives meaning to what they are experiencing. This heavy discussion may seem like it contrasts with the gospel in the background, but the gospel brings forth feelings of comfort and belonging, which to Mitski, alcohol does. This song sets up the rest of the album and is a fantastic opener. 

After, your ears are greeted by the acoustic strumming of “Buffalo Replaced”. She discusses themes of industrialization versus nature through the comparison of buffalo to freight trains. This song is a fantastic example of the innate imagery and meaning behind her lyricism: “Freight train stampedin’ through my backyard / It’ll run across the plains like buffalo replaced.” The use of buffalo in this song adds to an almost “western” vibe that the entire album gives off which contributes to the “Americanness” of it. The next song, “Heaven”, adds to this with strings and pedal steel, an almost fusion of country and waltz. 

Her discussion of mental health becomes its most poignant on the next track “I Don’t Like My Mind” where Mitski outright states that she doesn’t like her mind. This song is likely to resonate the most with listeners, especially post-pandemic which only further highlighted the mental health crisis facing the world. Specifically, Mitski sings ardently of overthinking and remembering painful events: “And then I get sick and throw up and there's another memory that gets stuck / Inside the walls of my skull waiting for its turn to talk / And it may be a few years, but you can bet it's there, waiting still / For me to be left alone in a room full of things that I've done." 

Even though her album seems very bleak–which at times it is–there is still an underlying theme of love. Namely, “My Love Mine All Mine” is about the fact that sometimes the best thing is the fact that you loved. At the end of the day, it’s yours, and it’s the only thing that will truly be yours. The meaning of this song is absolutely beautiful, but it’s not out of place with the general feelings of melancholy that this album brings forth. The song is the most soothing on the album, sounding almost like a lullaby. 

This album is brilliant; the songs flow from one to the next seamlessly, and lyrically, it’s one of her bests. Even if you’ve never listened to Mitski before, I think this album is definitely worth the listen. And, for avid fans, this album is a treat. It combines all the best parts about Mitski–imaginative instrumentals, deep lyrics, and melancholic sounds for an absolutely phenomenal album. This album is one of her best, and one of the best released this entire year.