Mitski's Early Career and Her Impact On Indie

1 day ago6 min read

Hello and welcome back to this weeks Earworm post!! Today I wanted to talk about one of my top artists- Mitski! I feel like a lot of people nowadays recognize her name and maybe even know a song or two off the top of their head, but I also feel like the impact she's had in the indie space can't be overstated enough, so I'm here to summarize and give my opinions on her early works.

Introduction

If (somehow) you don't know who Mitski is, let me give you a crash course really quick. She's and indie-rock/alternative legend who got recognition from her poem-like songwriting style and straying from typical music conventions. She started out as a student at SUNY Purchase College, where she studied studio composition and released her first two albums as part of a senior project. It wasn't until her third album 'Bury Me At Makeout Creek' that she started to get more recognition, and as I talk about each of her albums, you'll start to see that might not have been such a coincidence. Her first two albums, "Lush" and "Retired from Sad, New Career in Business" were more contemporary and interpretive, which made it hard for most to get into if they weren't looking for that sort of thing. It also didn't help that they were only on Bandcamp, as these were only student projects and weren't expected to make a lot of noise in the first place. Regardless, she still had a small cult following that's evolved to her huge audience of today.

Lush

As I mentioned before, 'Lush' was Mitski's first album and was made as a student project in college. Her first two albums share many similarities in the way they are written, but they both have their own identity. They both have different production styles that help distinguish them from one another. How I've always felt about 'Lush' is that it's more poetic and lyric-focused than any of her other albums. I imagine this being her first body of work has a lot to do with that, as she likely didn't have the resources at the time to push her music further. For that reason, a lot of the songs from this album are very similar in sound. Almost every song starts as a piano ballad, excluding 'Brand New City' and 'Real Men'. That's not to discredit her in any way, but this album can get repetitive on the first listen unless you really prioritize lyrics and songwriting in your music. To be blunt, this is probably my least favorite project from her, not because its bad or anything, but because her other albums have more to offer. Regardless, this album was a really good first step, especially for just a student project. For each album, I think it'd be a good idea to share my personal favorite and one that I think deserves more attention. For Lush, I'd say my favorite song is probably 'Brand New City' as someone who loves Mitski's rock songs. A song that I think needs more attention is 'Door', which is also the least-streamed song from this album on Spotify. It's a very simple song, but her haunting vocals paired with the almost hopeless lyrics makes it a good listen when you're down in the dumps.

Retired from Sad, New Career in Business

Mitski's second album, 'Retired from Sad, New Career in Business' was the first glimpse into the artist that we know and love today. While the album preceding it was more simplistic in production, this album had lots of interesting things to look forward to and took several steps in the right direction. She expanded out further into alternative/rock with this project, and I personally believe that this album shares a lot of similarities to her album "Be The Cowboy". I also feel like she had a clearer concept in mind while making this album, as it feels more cohesive and consistent in theme overall. She does return to her piano and poetic roots from 'Lush' on tracks like 'Humpty' and 'Class of 2013', but these songs also feel more full and easier to enjoy than some songs from 'Lush'. In the past 5 years or so, this album has actually received more attention than ever before due to some songs trending on TikTok. 'I Want You' is one of Mitski's most recognizable songs due to its virality. I think it was during quarantine that this song started to get traction, but I can't remember for sure. This is actually a very common occurrence for Mitski. While she doesn't usually break the mainstream in the usual way (for example, radio play), but almost all of her album have had one of it's songs go viral online. My favorite song from this album is probably 'Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart', which starts with a strange rhythm that slowly fits into place as the song progresses. The most underrated song would probably have to be 'Humpty'. Even though it's just another piano ballad, it's a great example of how even a song with a simple message and sound can be so gripping and emotional.

Bury Me At Makeout Creek

Where do I even begin with this album? 'Bury Me At Makeout Creek' was the first project she made that wasn't a project for school. This album was her fully stepping into the indie-rock scene, which at the time was mostly male dominated. And it truly was indie in every sense, as Mitski had to teach herself how to play guitar in order to make this album, not to mention that the whole thing was made in houses and homemade studio setups. It's definitely one of, if not, her most recognizable album. This was when she really started to grab the attention of indie-rock fans. It's also distinctively different from her first two albums. This album doesn't really have a clear-cut theme, though. You could say most songs are simply about heartbreak or love, but that assumption doesn't always hold true for every song. I've always interpreted this album as the experiences of being an adult experiencing real love (and all the sadness that comes with it) for the first time. All that to say, I don't think this album ever was supposed to have a clear-cut concept, and I think that's part of the magic. Sometimes it's abrasive, sometimes it's more vulnerable, and that's something I really like about it. My favorite track is probably 'Jobless Monday', which might be a bit of a hot take. I really like the synths in that song, though. I think that 'Townie' deserves a bit more love. It's not very different from your typical rock song, but I love the carefree and upbeat vibe it has going on.

Puberty 2

This album is a close contender for being one of my favorite albums by Mitski. It builds off where 'Bury Me At Makeout Creek' left off, being mostly comprised of indie-rock tracks. Despite that, she develops her sound even further in this album. For example, in the song 'Happy', she adds brass instruments to the ensemble of instruments and sounds to create a sound that (at the time) was new and fresh. In my opinion, this album also feels more inspired than her last album. Again, you could just boil it down to an album about love and heartbreak, but also talks about the experience of growing up and developing as a person in society. Given that, it might make a little more sense as to why she named this album 'Puberty 2'. It's a rollercoaster of emotion, going from 'I Bet On Losing Dogs' to 'My Body's Made Of Crushed Little Stars' on the track list is so jarring. Reminiscing about how you always seem to give time to those who don't deserve it, and hating yourself for it. But life doesn't stop for anybody, and now it's time to worry about how your gonna pay rent. It's a common theme of this album; being forced to find the balance between vulnerability/sadness and the monotony of every day responsibilities. It's a feeling felt by many, having to navigate the world and our own personal issues while also being forced to work full time jobs and stay in line just to keep the lights on. This album has a lot to share, and it's one I would recommend to any indie-rock fan. My favorite track off of this album has to be 'Happy'. It's just so interesting and has such a bitter sweet feeling; maybe it's for the best that you've left me, but I'm not sure what the worlds gonna look like without you. An underrated song is 'Fireworks', which has a really great climactic point that gets super addicting. Such a great album.

Wrapping Up (for now)

For this post, I only had time to write about her first four albums because I have a lot of exams and stuff coming up and I needed to prioritize that! But- I plan on continuing this topic for next weeks post. So make sure to come back in order to hear about her last 3 albums!

Earworm ~-~-~o

Thanks for reading!

-Joey :)