Mitski makes return with upcoming album & new single “Bug Like an Angel”
The new album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is set to release on September 15th.
Longtime fans of singer/songwriter Mitski Miyawaki, known mononymously as Mitski, know how private she is and how she’s struggled with being famous in the past. In September 2019, she had announced she would no longer be making music but ultimately decided to return with the Laurel Hell LP in February 2022. “Bug Like an Angel” is the newest release, coming out on July 26th, 2023 with a full music video as well.
This single also came with a heartfelt message from the songwriter where she wanted to “thank you [the fans,] so much for your patience and support while I found my way here. I love you!” Mitski also detailed again how she struggles with being in the public eye while trying to remain a private life, specifically mentioning how it goes against her nature. However, she also mentions how lucky she is to be in this position, and renegotiated with her label to continue making music and to take the good with all the bad that may arise.
“Bug Like an Angel” is the first single and the leading track on the upcoming album, Mitski’s seventh studio LP release. It touches upon themes of religion and addiction, also showing this in the music video as well.
It opens with an older woman appearing to be very intoxicated stumbling around, and eventually is held by a member of a religious choir where Mitski herself also makes an appearance.
I love the cinematic touch of the video, where the woman breaks free and starts walking down a clearly marked dead-end street, ignoring a “ONE WAY” street sign down another road where there’s also a glowing cross.
The line “Did you go and make promises you can't keep? Well, when ya break them, they break you right back” is one that really has stuck with me. I am a longtime fan of Mitski myself and find her music to be extremely relatable, this new song of hers is no exception. When she sings that “Sometimes a drink feels like family” and then paired with the choir, it creates such a haunting melancholic feeling.
Mitski’s vocals continue to hold a very beautiful and soft tone and become very harmonious with the simplicity of the acoustic guitar & chorus. The final line of the song is one that I know will stick with me for a long time – “I try to remember the wrath of the devil was also given him by God”.
Much of Mitski’s discography carries very complex, profound themes, and so this complexity of religion is certainly no stranger to fans. She’s a phenomenal songwriter and lyricist, and Bug Like an Angel fits right in with her other music and I am very eagerly awaiting the release of the upcoming record.