Mitski announces new album ‘Laurel Hell’, shares single ‘The Only Heartbreaker’

The news follows the release of first single 'Working For The Knife'

Mitski has shared details of her sixth album, ‘Laurel Hell’, alongside a music video for her new single ‘The Only Heartbreaker’.

The US singer-songwriter’s new record is released on February 4 via Dead Oceans. Many of its songs were written during or before 2018, followed by a lengthy process of finalising it over the pandemic.

‘The Only Heartbreaker’, which follows the previously released ‘Working For The Knife‘, is an up-tempo, ’80s-tinged affair co-written by Dan Wilson.

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The song is said to depict “the person always messing up in the relationship, the designated Bad Guy who gets the blame”, explained Mitski in a statement. “It could simply be about that, but I also wanted to depict something sadder beneath the surface, that maybe the reason you’re always the one making mistakes is because you’re the only one trying.”

In the song she sings: “So I’ll be the loser in this game/ I’ll be the bad guy in the play/ I’ll be the water main that’s burst inflames/ You’ll be by the window only watching.”

Watch the Maegan Houang and Jeff Desom-directed music video below:

Mitski spoke more about the motivation behind ‘Laurel Hell’. “I needed love songs about real relationships that are not power struggles to be won or lost. I needed songs that could help me forgive both others and myself. I make mistakes all the time. I don’t want to put on a front where I’m a role model, but I’m also not a bad person. I needed to create this space mostly for myself where I sat in that grey area.”

She recorded the album with her longtime producer Patrick Hyland throughout the isolation of a global pandemic, during which some of the songs “slowly took on new forms and meanings, like seed to flower”. ‘Laurel Hell’ then evolved into being something “more uptempo and dance-y. I needed to create something that was also a pep talk”, Mitksi said.

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'Laurel Hell' cover
‘Laurel Hell’ cover. CREDIT: Press

‘Laurel Hell’ tracklist:

01. ‘Valentine, Texas’
02. ‘Working For The Knife’
03. ‘Stay Soft’
04. ‘Everyone’
05. ‘Heat Lightning’
06. ‘The Only Heartbreaker’
07. ‘Love Me More’
08. ‘There’s Nothing Left For You’
09. ‘Should’ve Been Me’
10. ‘I Guess’
11. ‘That’s Our Lamp’

Last month Mitski announced a UK and European tour for 2022.

She is also touring in the US, the dates of which have all sold out. The vast majority of her UK and Europe tour dates have also sold out. Head here for details.

‘Laurel Hell’ will follows on from her last album, 2018’s ‘Be The Cowboy‘, and comes after she reassured fans in 2019 that she wasn’t quitting music after announcing details of what would be her “last show indefinitely”.

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