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Feb 04, 2022 By Mark Redfern Photography by Ebru Yildiz

Mitski has released a new album, Laurel Hell, today via Dead Oceans. In honor of release day she has shared a video for the album’s “Stay Soft.” You can also stream the album and read our rave review of it. Watch the Maegan Houng-directed “Stay Soft” video below, followed by a stream of the album. Read our review of Laurel Hell here. Also below are her upcoming tour dates.

Mitski had this to say about the song in a press release: “‘Stay Soft’ was a more straightforward rock song when I wrote it on guitar, but the darkly sexual lyrics sung in that context felt too heavy and melodramatic. So we couched the depressing lyrics in an inviting dance beat, which is a trick people have used for hundreds of years. The remnants of the original grungy feeling can be heard starting at the instrumental interlude, when the distorted guitar comes in.

“This song, frankly, is about hurt people finding each other, and using sex to make sense of their pain. This is by no means the correct way to cope with trauma, but it’s a thing people do regardless, and I always want to write songs about what we actually do, so that we don’t feel alone in them.”

Houang had this to say about directing the video: “This video is heavily inspired by Romanticism and paintings and artwork from the Victorian era. Like the lyrics of the song ‘Stay Soft,’ paintings from that era have a gentle quality, but they still evoke a certain feeling of unexplored darkness and danger. I want the audience to feel safe within this fabricated world and then realize that the character Mitski plays is being hunted. The violence lurking beneath the surface emerges, and yet is still transformed into something beautiful via dance. Through the dance sequence, Mitski’s character is able to conquer the violence, but not without irreparable harm to her psyche.”

Previously released singles from Laurel Hell are “Working For the Knife” (which topped our Songs of the Week list), “The Only Heartbreaker” (also featured on our Songs of the Week list), and “Heat Lightning” (which again was on our Songs of the Week list). That was followed by “Love Me More,” shared via a surreal video for it featuring a puppet version of Mitski and more. “Love Me More” was also one of our Songs of the Week.

Many of the songs on Laurel Hell were written during or before 2018. The album was finally finished being mixed in May 2021. Mitski’s longtime producer Patrick Hyland worked with her on the album throughout the pandemic and it’s the longest she has ever worked on an album. Over the course of its creation, Mitski said in a previous press release that the album evolved “to be more uptempo and dance-y. I needed to create something that was also a pep talk.”

Of the lyrical themes on the album, Mitski said: “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 gray area.”

Mitski’s last album, Be the Cowboy, was #2 on our Top 100 Albums of 2018 list and landed her on the cover of our print magazine.

Read our 2019 cover story interview with Mitski on Be the Cowboy.

Mitski Tour Dates:

Thu. Feb. 17, 2022 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel - SOLD OUT
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz - SOLD OUT
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 - Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern - SOLD OUT
Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 - Birmingham, AL @ Iron City - SOLD OUT
Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 - New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre - SOLD OUT
Thu. Feb. 24, 2022 - Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall - SOLD OUT
Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 - Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum - SOLD OUT
Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 - Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater - SOLD OUT
Mon. Feb. 28, 2022 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren - SOLD OUT
Wed. March 2, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall - SOLD OUT
Thu. March 3, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall - SOLD OUT
Fri. March 4, 2022 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater - SOLD OUT
Sat. March 5,2022 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater - SOLD OUT
Mon. March 7, 2022 - Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall - SOLD OUT
Wed. March 9, 2022 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre - SOLD OUT
Thu. March 10, 2022 - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre - SOLD OUT
Sat. March 12, 2022 - Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom - SOLD OUT
Mon. March 14, 2022 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre - SOLD OUT
Tue. March 15, 2022 - Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre - SOLD OUT
Thu. March 17, 2022 - Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre - SOLD OUT
Fri. March 18, 2022 - Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall - SOLD OUT
Sat. March 19, 2022 - Montreal, QC @ St-Jean-Baptiste Church - SOLD OUT
Mon. March 21, 2022 - Boston, MA @ Roadrunner - SOLD OUT
Tue. March 22, 2022 - Boston, MA @ Roadrunner - SOLD OUT
Thu. March 24, 2022 - New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall - SOLD OUT
Fri. March 25, 2022 - Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall - SOLD OUT
Sat. March 26, 2022 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem - SOLD OUT
Sun. March 27, 2022 - Washington, DC @ The Anthem - SOLD OUT
Tue. March 29, 2022 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE - SOLD OUT
Wed. March 30, 2022 - Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall - SOLD OUT
Thu. March 31, 2022 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium - SOLD OUT
Thu. April 21, 2022 - Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory - SOLD OUT
Fri. April 22, 2022 - Leeds, UK @ University Union Refectory - SOLD OUT
Sat. April 23, 2022 - Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom - SOLD OUT
Mon. April 25, 2022 - Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street - SOLD OUT
Tue. April 26, 2022 - Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy - SOLD OUT
Thu. April 28, 2022 - London, UK @ The Roundhouse - SOLD OUT
Fri. April 29, 2022 - London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton - SOLD OUT
Sat. April 30, 2022 - Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique Festival - SOLD OUT
Mon. May 2, 2022 - Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix - SOLD OUT
Tue. May 3, 2022 - Paris, FR @ L’Olympia - SOLD OUT
Wed. May 4, 2022 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso - SOLD OUT
Fri. May 6, 2022 - Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
Sat. May 7, 2022 - Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks SOLD OUT
Mon. May 9, 2022 - Berlin, DE @ Metropol - SOLD OUT
Tue. May 10, 2022 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega - SOLD OUT
Wed. May 11, 2022 - Stockholm, SE @ Fållan SOLD OUT
Thu. May 12, 2022 - Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene SOLD OUT
Sat. May 14, 2022 - Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik - SOLD OUT
Sun. May 15, 2022 - Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria - SOLD OUT
Tue. May 17, 2022 - Vienna, AT @ WUK - SOLD OUT
Wed. May 18, 2022 - Prague, CZ @ Archa Theatre - SOLD OUT
Thu. May 19, 2022 - Munich, DE @ Strom - SOLD OUT
Sat. Jun. 11 - Glasgow, SC @ Ibrox Stadium * - SOLD OUT
Wed. Jun. 15 - Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford * - SOLD OUT
Thu. Jun. 16 - Manchester, UK @ Emirates Old Trafford * - SOLD OUT
Sat. Jun. 18 - London, UK @ Wembley Stadium * - SOLD OUT
Sun. Jun. 19 - London, UK @ Wembley Stadium * - SOLD OUT
Sat. July 2, 2022 - Stockholm, SE @ Lollapalooza Stockholm
Fri. Sep. 16 - Sun. Sep. 18, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA @ Primavera Sound LA

* supporting Harry Styles

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