Mitski’s seventh studio album, “The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We,” stands out from her other pieces of work with its warmer tone and loving message. The album features a sweeping classic Hollywood sound with its orchestra and choir, conducted by Drew Erikson, who is best known for his work with Lana Del Rey. “We just felt like he is exactly the person who can do that,” Mitski said in a video uploaded to her channel.
The first track on the album, “Bug Like An Angel,” shows the unbalanced state of addiction, as heard through the cavernous guitar and changing cords. The protagonist is drinking out of a glass, and trying to get the very last drop, she tilts their head back and angles the glass to the sky. She sees a small bug stuck to the bottom, arms sprawled like an angel soaring above. Later, the protagonist sees another person upset, and equates it to the childlike feeling of losing a prized possession. She assumes they are upset because they make promises they could never keep; ‘Well when ya break them, they break you right back.’ Finally, in the third verse of the song, the protagonist says what she’s been wanting to say this whole time. As she is bent over a toilet throwing up, she’s begging for her sickness caused by addiction to stop, making empty promises that she will never again drink. ‘I try to remember the wrath of the devil, was also given to him by God.’ The song ends as the protagonist feels that God has intended this suffering for her, wondering why she has been made so terribly broken.
The song “Buffalo Replaced” starts with an atmosphere of the wild west. The protagonist watches as cars and trains rush by, remembering when the plains were full of wildlife like buffalo instead of rapid machinery. She feels like she does not fit into this ever-changing world, and she soon wonders if having hope even matters anymore. Hope makes life painful, but as the protagonist decides, it is still important to hold onto.
After her album “Be The Cowboy,” Mitski wrote the track “Heaven,” which was remastered from a swing to a full orchestra. The song begins with an old Hollywood sound as the protagonist mourns that her love had left her. ‘As I sip on the rest of the coffee you left, a kiss left of you’ shows the longing for the life she used to have with someone.
“I Don’t Like My Mind” immediately starts with dreamy vocals drawing a sense of fear. The protagonist feels that she can’t be alone with her own mind and the reminders of the things she has done. She starts to bake a cake, as it tells her exactly what to do and takes a while. At the very end, she eats the entire cake. As she is bent over throwing up, ‘There’s another memory that gets stuck, inside the walls of my skull, waiting for its turn to talk.’ There is a feeling of hating one’s own mind, refusing to accept the thoughts that are there, trying to distract from it, until the problem has become so large there is no avoiding it.
This feeling of desperation in isolation can be easily relatable to those with mental health issues during the pandemic. In an interview with World Cafe, Mistki says “I think I was more actively isolated for the creation process of Laurel Hell, my previous album. Now I can move on and maybe do what I want to do.”
In “The Deal,” the protagonist is walking down a quiet street at night as she makes a deal with the devil. ‘I want someone to take this soul, I can’t bear to keep it’ she says, but nothing answers. As the song slows, she sees a bird perched upon a streetlight which speaks to her. The protagonist is told the deal has been made, and ‘Your pain has been eased, but you’ll never be free.’ The song accelerates back to its original speed as drums are added and other instruments crescendo. The chorus is repeated as the song gets louder, as if the protagonist’s own mind is becoming more and more overwhelmed.
“When Memories Snow” begins with a harsh deep piano. The first verse has a winter tone, as it describes the protagonist shoveling the snow out of her driveway so she may have peace of mind. Once the snow melts, all she can do is listen as she tries to sleep. The song crescendos into a tone similar to many songs in her first album, “Lush.” As the protagonist’s mind declines into chaos, she can no longer ignore the snowfall of memories within her.
One realization Mitski had while writing “My Love Mine All Mine” is the fact that she doesn’t have anything she calls her own, except the love she keeps within herself. Relationships and physical possessions can break down, but feelings will last forever. “It’s this love I feel in me, that I’ve created in me, that I’ve built in me, I’ve held onto. It’s mine for as long as I want it,” Mitski said. The song opens as the protagonist realizes that this love she has within her chest will die with her. She looks up to the moon, wishing it could hold the most beautiful thing for her, to shine for years to come.
“The Frost” starts with an Americana country tone accompanied by a guitar. The protagonist sits near a window in an empty house, with frost spreading along the window that looks like dust slowly piling up. ‘Now the world is mine, alone’ shows how lonely she feels after her best friend is gone. The feeling of losing someone very close to her, but not being able to tell anyone about it and keeping that hurt within herself is like a calmer version of “Nobody.” Both songs were mournful at the loss of someone, but the previous had screaming vocals, whereas this one is soft and accepting.
“Star” was originally written years ago as Mitski sat on a lawn chair looking up at the moon with a guitar in her hands. The song went through many changes; the acoustics were dark, then changed to a carpenter’s swing, until the subtle orchestration we have today. The protagonist is mourning a past love that gave her life meaning. ‘Our love is like a star, it’s gone and we just see it shining’ shows that she can still feel that love, but like a dying star whose light has traveled millions of years, it does not exist anymore. The orchestra builds, showing desperation and hope as uncertainty intensifies. The illusion of light and love will be held onto by the protagonist for as long as possible.
“I’m Your Man” carries a metaphor between the relationship of God, man, and dog. The protagonist knows that the other person looks up to her, trusts her, and loves her. The lyric ‘You believe me like a God, I betray you like a man’ shows the protagonist feels that she does not deserve the love she is receiving. She talks about how when the other person dies, she should too, as no one will ever love her as much as them. ‘I will meet judgment by the hounds’ refers to how she will be treated after she has died. The rock sound builds through the song, until calming near the end when the choir enters. An overlay of dogs barking becomes louder and louder as the choir vocalizes until a scream cuts them off.
The message of the song shows such grief; the protagonist loves others but feels that her love is destroying them. In some ways, this feels like a letter Mitski wrote to her fans. Artists are so idealized in their works, but once it is realized that they are actual, living people, the listener leaves.
“Most of the things, as a songwriter, you put in your songs, the listeners are not going to pick up on; that’s just the name of the game,” Mitski said. “But also what’s fun about writing songs is putting those little descriptors in there, in these little easter eggs just for yourself and kind of expand the world that you’re building, if only just for yourself. If no one else in the world gets what you’re talking about. And I think that’s the real fun about songwriting.”
“I Love Me After You” breaks from Mitski’s previous closing tracks, as it is hopeful instead of bleak. The protagonist is brushing her hair in her mirror as the song begins. She walks through the house without caring if the windows are open. The lyrics “Let the darkness see me” adds to the idea from her previous album that darkness is something that you can exit and enter, something that will remember you. ‘Streets are mine, the night is mine, all on my own now’ shows a realization of complete loneliness. Percussion adds in as she repeats ‘I’m king of all the land’ as it crescendos. This song is one of hope, as the protagonist realizes it is okay to be alone. She is the king of the inhospitable land.
This album tells a story of loss and love and finding hope in solitude. When the land is inhospitable, when we are inhospitable, we look for warmth in the love within ourselves.
“To love is the best thing I ever did in my life. To love is truly the best and most beautiful thing I ever did,” Mitski said.
