MITSKI レコード& CD

Review: Laurel Hell is a superb statement of intent from Mitski which confirms the artist is in a place of real power. Her talents work alchemic charms on listeners from the off despite being couched, ostensibly, in pop music. It features her channelling plenty of personal life experiences into cathartic music with which we can all connect. I wrote what I needed to hear," Mitski has explained o the album which follows up her availed last LP, Be The Cowboy, itself building on her breakout debut Puberty 2 in 2006. This one proves she remains a vital talent.

Review: Japanese-American indie-rocker Mitski was once a cult favourite, but in recent times her audience has grown exponentially, helped by the critical praise heaped on her fourth album, 2016's Puberty 2. Two years on, Be The Cowboy arrives amongst a blizzard of publicity and many more positive reviews. It's certainly a hugely impressive set, with each of the 14 songs dealing with romantic and interpersonal relationships in some way. There's much heartache, of course, expressed both lyrically and in Mitski's distinctive, emotion-rich vocal delivery. Musically, the album never sits still, either, darting between grandiose slabs of poignant moodiness and the kind of jaunty, disco-tinged goodtime grooves that belie their melancholic inspirations.