Albums to watch

The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We

Mitski

The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We

Seventh album from the New York-based Japanese/American synth-pop singer songwriter produced by Patrick Hyland

ADM rating[?]

8.6

Label
Dead Oceans
UK Release date
15/09/2023
US Release date
15/09/2023
  1. 10.0 |   The Independent

    The subtle melodies on The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We can take their time to gleam through the murk. So give it time and space at night, when you’re alone, to allow its wild darkness to shine
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  2. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    Playing country-inflected orchestral pop with sardonic wit and deep feeling, Mitski underlines why she’s one of the very best singer-songwriters working today
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  3. 10.0 |   Dork

    In a decade where female singer songwriters, once misunderstood, are becoming recognised as The Greats (see: Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey), Mitski can’t be far behind. A disregard for the mainstream proves again to be Mitski’s strongest armour, as ‘The Land…’ becomes her most sonically interesting full-length yet
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  4. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    Mitski's seventh record is a brutally honest chronicle of the struggle to find self-love
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  5. 9.0 |   Under The Radar

    Mitski has not only created her most cohesive, accessible, musically diverse album yet, but also an arresting work of substantial beauty
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  6. 9.0 |   DIY

    No other record today sounds so beautiful and full while being quite so sparse
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  7. 9.0 |   Exclaim

    A phoenix-from-the-ashes return, a ghost story, a country record. It's Mitski's first album recorded with a full band. It's also her loneliest
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  8. 9.0 |   Northern Transmissions

    This is a really fascinating shift in Mitski’s output, one that already makes you even more intrigued to see where she’ll go next
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  9. 9.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The singer’s ability to pack so many gut-punches and inspired ideas into half an hour remains uncannily impactful
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  10. 9.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Mitski returns crestfallen on the gruesome yet fantastical The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
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  11. 9.0 |   American Songwriter

    Few albums in recent memory are as thematically bold and cohesive as The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. Mitski has a firm world built around her. Her identity as a musician has been long set in motion
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  12. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Feeling like something of a reset, the follow-up to Laurel Hell, like all the best albums, keeps you on edge, never quite knowing what’s coming next
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  13. 9.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    The album beautifully observes the simple and mundane, the small joys and heartbreaks that plague everyday life
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  14. 8.9 |   Paste Magazine

    On her stirring and orchestral seventh album, Mitski blazes a glorious new trail and sounds freer than ever
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  15. 8.5 |   Beats Per Minute

    The album’s brevity only adds to the allure, as it is stripped of any excess, and devoid of a single misstep. It is a distinct departure, but ultimately unsurprising in its flawless execution
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  16. 8.1 |   Pitchfork

    After contemplating retirement, Mitski returns with a new album that’s warmer, quieter, and more organic-sounding. For the first time in a while, she sounds like she has space to breathe
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  17. 8.0 |   Clash

    The end of the album feels like a perfect summary of all the themes that Mitski has explored: self-deprecation, love, hope, and disappointment. The final challenge? Self-love
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  18. 8.0 |   The Observer

    The Japanese-American singer-songwriter sounds deceptively sweet on this lush, contemplative album largely recorded in Nashville
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  19. 8.0 |   Crack

    While the self is and will always be her great muse, on The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, Mitski acknowledges that though we may feel love in our hearts, our heads, our bodies, it’s other people who put it there in the first place
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  20. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Marks a shift away from her earlier work toward a more mainstream sound that might even be called Americana
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  21. 8.0 |   The FT

    The artist’s songs continue to inspire with considerable lyricism and meaning that must be decoded
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  22. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    If she tried playing those songs to Harry Styles’s stadium screamers she’d lose them instantly, but on headphones, ideally in the dark, she can mesmerise
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  23. 8.0 |   All Music

    With cited influences spanning Ennio Morricone, Faron Young, Caetano Veloso, and Arthur Russell, among others, it was recorded with her longtime producer, Patrick Hyland, with her band on hand live in the studio, and with a (judiciously employed) orchestra and 17-piece choir
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  24. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    In stepping back from her commercial flirtation, during which she supported Harry Styles, the album embraces a quieter ambition that makes inhospitality sound strangely inviting
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  25. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    The land here is bleak and sorrowful, yet it is beautiful as it is compelling and relatable
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  26. 8.0 |   NME

    The US artist's second post-hiatus record does away with the glossy sheen and favours hushed intimacy
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  27. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is another evolution: a mix of quotidian-yet-elliptical lyricism, classic country accompaniment, daring orchestral movements, and the musician’s unique brand of storytelling
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  28. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Mitski has long stared at happiness and wondered what comes next; here, she spies it, smiles and then shrugs, the smart band beneath glowing like some warmth hearth on a cold Los Angeles Night. Print edition only

  29. 7.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    This album is a highly productive move for Mitski, opening up a wide array of new possibilities for future endeavours. One of these days we’ll get another song that crosses the four-minute mark, I can feel it
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