Mitski is back with her eighth studio album, Nothing's About To Happen To Me.
This is Mitski doing what she does best, which is turning the smallest human moments into something mythic. Take the track “Charon's Obal,” which is about a woman roaming around her house and feeding her dogs. This is sung with such conviction, and the music is so melancholic, that you’d think this is the most intense subject matter ever put to a digital audio interface.
It’s all part of Mitski’s allure and charm. In promotions for the record Mitski has been photographed in what looks like the most beautiful house you'd see on Hoarders. I assume she's taking on a character here: that of a lonely woman with her many cats, who finds solace roaming around her home. This character doesn’t loath the mundane, they revel in it.
Mitski has some really strong songs on this album, including “Lightning,” “That White Cat” and “If I Leave.” “Lighting” especially finds immense power in its minimal moments before it explodes into a full-blown rocker, and is one of the more impassioned vocal performances on this album.
Lead single “Where’s My Phone,” in the context of the album, is now hilarious to me. I imagine the character trying to find their phone amongst their tchotchkes, asking "where is my phone?" under their breath the whole time, while also muttering about “the girl on the street who called me a bitch.” Thinking about it this way got me laughing, and I enjoyed it even more than my initial listens. Also, the guitar solo at the end shreds, which is something I don't think Mitski gets a lot of credit for. And truly, her guitar skills are impressive. Does anyone besides me remember her Tiny Desk performance? The one where she ate her guitar and sang through the pickups?? She’s an underrated guitarist, and that needs to change!
“If I Leave” (which is the latest single), with its instant gut punch of a drum beat and lyrics about loving someone more than you can explain is yet another highlight. This is sit-alone-in-your-room-and-cry material, in the best way possible.
At the end of this record it's abundantly clear that one of the coolest things about Mitski is she doesn’t compromise — and it always pays off. She’s the real deal when it comes to being an artist, and Nothing's About To Happen To Me is just further proof of that. She has established herself as one of the strongest musicians of the last 20 years and doesn’t make bad music.
This is easily one of the best records released in the first two months of 2026. At this point, in my opinion it's one of Mitski’s strongest albums, alongside Puberty 2 and Bury Me At Makeout Creek. Besides, who doesn’t love a cat album cover?
