REVIEW: “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” by Mitski

Review of the new album by indie pop artist Mitski

Ceci Bennett, Assistant News Photo Editor and Captions Editor • 31 Views

April 7, 2026

The cover of “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” by Mitski. Collected from Dead Ocean Records

Displaying the complex emotions she feels in her adult life, Mitski’s new album, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me,” highlights her anger towards modern misogyny and her fear of death. Some have connected the album cover, a cat with heterochromia in front of a yellow background, to a short story called “The Yellow Wallpaper,” which follows a woman’s descent into madness. This connection makes the overall album more powerful.

“Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” by Mitski

"In a Lake"

“In a Lake” introduces Mitski’s album with unconcealed emotion, revealing her discomfort being scrutinized by those she has always known. She uses the metaphor of a small town to express feeling trapped in her own body and not able to change. Mitski’s vocals relax as she sings about her hope of starting over, while background tracks of city noises and trumpets wash over her voice. This track was a fitting start to the album. It's calm, and the production introduced me to tracks filled with bright trumpets and major guitar riffs seen later in the album. I feel there could have been more instrumentation included on this track, but at the same time, I appreciate the simplicity as the first song on the album.

"Where's My Phone?"

Right off the bat, I knew my prior belief of an entirely cheerful world was vastly inaccurate. When I first listened to “Where’s My Phone?” I noticed how the song felt very similar to her debut album, “Lush,” because of the electric guitar and loud drums. “Lush” had played on repeat for me during all of middle school, so this sound provided me with a strong sense of nostalgia. The production of this song was really unique and kind of shocked me with its obscurity. Mitski utilizes loud electric guitar and drums to make the song sound somewhat fuzzy. Her voice increasingly fades as the the track continues, drowned out by the loud instruments. Once I listened closer, I picked up her distress over who she has become and how she cannot find herself. It quickly became obvious that this song, which this album represents, is a dissent into mental health struggles, which can be noticed from the strong tension and her unsettling lyrics about “floating like a bug in amber”, seeming to tie to her song “Bug like an Angel” from her previous album “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We.”

"Cats"

After such a disconcerting yet powerful song, “Cats” feels a bit like a breath of fresh air. It uses similar instrumentation as her previous album, “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” so it feels familiar, making it slightly boring. I did not feel hooked throughout the whole track. It stayed soft throughout and could have benefited from a strong bridge. Yet Mitski’s lyrics do a great job at making up for an otherwise weak song, and I feel like this song is a great example of her lyricism. I liked how she used cats as a metaphor for not being able to control the actions of her partner. Mitski used the metaphor of a cat to explain how, as long as her partner is happy, she will be too. This metaphor seemed to simplify the song, which I felt was much needed after such a loud previous track. It felt very intentional, seeing as the cover of the album features a painting of a white cat.

"If I Leave"

“If I Leave” starts with a drum pattern that immediately reminded me of Mitski’s debut album, “Lush,” drawing me in with the familiar production style. Beginning the song with the snare being the prominent sound, then adding the guitar builds tension throughout the track. The poignant lyrics suggest that she is suppressing her feelings, but does not know how to leave her partner. She talks about feeling like she needs forgiveness in a relationship, which reminds me of her song “I’m Your Man,” also mentioning her self-deprication and inability to leave her relationships. While the lyrics and instruments drew me in, the tempo felt far too slow for my liking. I think this song would have fit better near more exciting tracks to balance the album out more.

"Dead Women"

“Dead Women” is hands-down my favorite song on the album. It begins with the startling lyrics, “Would you have liked me better if I’d died/So you could tell my story the way it ought to be?” Mitski imagines herself as already dead, watching her partner take control of what her life once was and changing her story to fit his desires. I found this track to be very moving, both from the lyrics and production, such as organ and soft-sounding guitar, as well as the fact that this song calls out the normalization of men’s harmful actions against women.

"Instead of Here"

Despite the brighter tone, twangy guitar and fast tempo, the lyrics of “Instead of Here” make it as haunting as the rest of the album. Mitski sings about not knowing how to live, yet not feeling ready for death. I was captivated by how she personifies death as a woman and misery as an old friend, signaling to past depression. This song uses very similar instrumentation to her last two albums, which is just redundant to me. I thought the lyrics were very thoughtful and did a great job of explaining her exact emotions, but the overall production felt too bland.

"I'll Change for You"

I enjoyed the slight change of instrumentation in “I’ll Change For You,” such as piano and later sounds from inside a bar. I was very excited to hear piano, because up until this point, few songs on the album included piano. The bar sounds seemed very intentional, seeming as the lyrics mention her drinking problem, which seems like a recurring theme from her song “Bug Like an Angel” from her previous album. Yet, it once again felt a bit boring due to the lack of a fast tempo and how the chorus and verses almost melded together.

"Rules"

Immediately, I felt awake when listening to this song because of the immediate, insistent lyrics. Mitski starts the trackby reciting “One two, one two, one two three.” She repeats this chant throughout the song, eventually ending it by counting out softly. I loved how this song was a change from some of the previous tracks, with trumpets, saxophone and louder vocals. Mitski explained her so-called rules for a new relationship, describing how she lost hope in each partner she had. I enjoyed listening to such a juxtaposition between the production and lyrics, with such bright, happy chords and disheartening lyrics. Mitski continuously astounds me with her ability to make instruments she rarely uses sound so similar to her style.

"The White Cat"

“That White Cat” feels like a switch-up from the previously mellow and bright- sounding tracks. With electric guitar and drums, Mitski brings out a more minor-sounding song that allows her to emphasize her anger clearly. Mitski, using her creative liberty to express her rage, has my adoration. She uses the metaphor of a local cat claiming her house as his own to describe her emotions towards people who take away what is hers. One thing I love about Mitski’s music is her tendency to repeat symbols in different songs. In this album, there were multiple tracks pertaining to cats and multiple lines relating to her complicated feelings about death. Yet, this is the first song on the album where she is genuinely yelling, which helps to illustrate how this album represents her descent into madness.

"Charon's Obol"

Going into this song, I was clueless as to the purpose of the title “Charon’s Obol.” I researched the term and learned it was a token placed in the mouths of the deceased in ancient times to guide souls to the underworld. After listening to the lyrics again, I understood Mitski was singing about a girl in a house who was honoring the girls who had died in the house before her. This is not the first track on the album to focus on women’s rights, and Mitski’s tendency to bring awareness towards this has made this song incredibly special to me. I loved the addition of the choir into the verses, making the overall vibe more mysterious and almost reverent. While I loved the overall message, it felt very similar to many other songs on the album, and seeing as this one is near the end, it started to blend into the other tracks. It could have benefited from more original chords to balance out the fresh instrumentation.

"Lightning"

As the last song on the album, “Lightning” seems to represent the calm after the storm, where the album’s depiction of a psychotic break finally comes to an end. Once again, her lyrics mention death when she sings “When I die/could I come back as the rain?” and “I can hear the song of my death/singing for the lightning to come.” It feels to me almost like her feelings towards death are maturing compared to previous tracks on the album. The production of “Lightning” felt to me like a mix of her previous two albums, “Puberty 2” and “Laurel Hell”, specifically because of the electric guitar and snare drum. I loved having this song at the end because it felt like a soft ending for the rollercoaster of emotions that Mitski had sung about through the album.

Overall, I was very impressed with the format of the album. Mitski’s capability to affect her listeners’ emotions with strong lyrics and great track placement truly indicates her great talent as a songwriter. Although most of the tracks sounded shockingly similar to her previous album, “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” I was not awed by all of the tracks. Yet, Mitski’s heartfelt vocals and strong production on the majority of songs made this album one of my top rotations of the year. My favorite songs were “Dead Women” and “Lightning.” All in all, I would give this album an 8/10.

About the Contributor

Ceci Bennett, Assistant News Photo and Captions Editor

Ceci is a junior and Assistant News Photo and Captions Editor for Free State Journalism. Her goals for this year are to get better running endurance, improve her photo skills and learn as much as she can. Outside of journalism, she is a part of National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, cross country, track and field and a myriad of clubs. Outside of school, Ceci loves to play piano, read tons of books, go camping and walk her dog, Teg.

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