Made up in equal parts of emotional pop bangers and riveting electronic anomie, Mitski’s hotly anticipated fifth album does not disappoint. This Japanese American indie artist’s strides towards the mainstream are laced with resonant themes; disembodied hands, cleanliness and “the dark” recur as images.
The hooks are sharp. A series of tunes skew hard towards sleek, oversaturated 80s pop. In addition to the maximalist cris de coeur The Only Heartbreaker and Love Me More – both previously released – Mitski packs in bouncy romps such as Should’ve Been Me, outlining the pitfalls of a relationship with deceptive orchestral cheer. The dulcet Americana of Heat Lightning could sit easily alongside the notionally more commercial work of Lana Del Rey.
