Isolation in Mitski’s New March 2 Indie-Rock Album Nothing’s About to Happen to Me

By Staff Writer Erika Liu

The work of indie singer-songwriter Mitski has always been characterized by a certain tranquil misery. Her gloomy and intimate lyricism, usually revolving around heartbreak, has earned her high acclaim within the indie-rock genre, and a rabid fanbase to go with it. 

As a result, Mitski has often demonstrated discomfort with the music industry, which she has described as overwhelmingly invasive and commodifying. Thanks to fame, Mitski has described her own name as becoming a “foreigner” to her. Her newest and most introspective work yet — Nothing’s About to Happen to Me, released under Dead Oceans on March 2 — explores this alienation and desire for privacy through a fresh lens, framed within the narrative of a reclusive woman living inside a decaying house. Surrounded by pets, memories, and her own thoughts, the woman in question rejects societal expectation, seeking anonymity instead. Structured around themes of isolation, the album uses hushed vocals and obsessive references to death to portray the dark fear of the outside world that comes with being an outcast. 

The album truly shines through within its lyricism. Each song, while sonically unassuming, is both different and meaningful when pieced apart. “Dead Women” focuses on societal expectations of women — whether it be through stardom or objectification — and how these social pressures often follow individuals past their graves. “That White Cat” is, in the literal sense, about paying a mortgage so a cat can murder birds; metaphorically, that the greatest investments can be freely encroached upon by anyone. 

In Mitski’s strongest song on the album, “Where’s My Phone?,” she explores the existential terror of aging and impending, unwanted change. Mitski, portrayed in the song’s music video by a middle-aged spinster, struggles through an intimate fisheye lens and crazed time-lapse to protect her younger self and reject the old. The woman’s despair demonstrates an evident loss of agency — something Mitski herself has lamented as an artist in an increasingly commercialized music industry. The woman, in her own relatable human desperation, is fighting to stop time and shut out reality. In this way, it reflects the album’s title — the song is a constant self-assurance that “nothing is about to happen to me,” while the impending approaches. It adds some necessary friction to an otherwise reserved album. The weirdness of “Where’s My Phone?” is authentic and touching, leaving a lingering despair in listeners.

However, despite its impressive thematic weight, the album sounds boring. Granted, it is beautiful. Mitski’s raw, despairing vocals combine with piano-based compositions and 90’s-inspired rock and synths to create a uniquely delicate and emotional sound, distinctly Americana in influence. However, within this uniform beauty, there is very little leeway for new and interesting musical ideas — making the album quickly grow stale. 

Mitski’s past works — such as Bury Me at Makeout Creek — were much more dynamic. Songs like “I Don’t Smoke,” “Townie,” and “Drunk Walk Home” stood out thanks to their heavier production, which added a needed, audible tension missing from Nothing’s About to Happen to Me. By stripping her music of the stress and graininess that made her earlier work so interesting, Mitski trades a more experimental sound for a flat elegance. Her latest album is too cohesive. It fails to reflect sonically the range and diversity of emotions and concepts that are being explored lyrically.

However, despite these flaws, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me maintains its value as an incredibly insightful work. Mitski’s deceptively quiet songs disguise a hard-won, philosophical weight; one legitimately successful at prodding the listener’s darkest, most depressive thoughts. Nothing’s About to Happen to Me perfectly captures a frozen anticipation. It’s the slow menace of what it’s like to have no agency; to be completely and utterly alone.

Grade: A-