mitski

beiser

Well-known member
placeholder thread for when i’m sober enough to write up a theory of mitski but it seems remarkable that nobody on the board has ever mentioned her.
 

sus

Well-known member
one of Audrey Wollen's canonical Sad Girls, alongside Billie Ellish, Brittany Murphy, Cleopatra, Edie Sedgwick, Elizabeth Wurtel, Fiona Apple, Lana Del Rey, Kathy Acker, Persephone, Sappho, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and Audrey Wollen
 
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boxedjoy

Well-known member
I like Mitski but I don't see her as particularly exceptional at what she does, I'm looking forward to having her music opened up to me
 

sus

Well-known member
I always get her mixed up with Angel Olsen and Japanese Breakfast, I was just going to link a song and realized it was from All Mirrors.

Olsen's probably better than her at the blue-eyed soul schtick and JB is probably worse, that's my $.02
 

sus

Well-known member
I thought Be The Cowboy was pretty garbage, Bury Me At Makeout Creek is fine I guess

 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
I'm listening to the new Angel Olsen and I do like her voice but the arrangements are so predictable as always. The guitars always sound exactly like you'd expect, the reverb on the vocals is consistently beyond cliche, when there are drums they always have a very straight, plodding inertia to them that sucks any sense of purpose out. Really frustrating because her stuff is almost good and yet ultimately disappointing.

Japanese Breakfast are always completely unmemorable though. Mitski is inconsistent but moments of excellence and inspiration. Out of all the contemporary singer-songwriter types I think Torres is the best, she's got the PJ Harvey snarl and bleakness of Cat Power.
 

sus

Well-known member
I'm listening to the new Angel Olsen and I do like her voice but the arrangements are so predictable as always. The guitars always sound exactly like you'd expect, the reverb on the vocals is consistently beyond cliche, when there are drums they always have a very straight, plodding inertia to them that sucks any sense of purpose out. Really frustrating because her stuff is almost good and yet ultimately disappointing.

Japanese Breakfast are always completely unmemorable though. Mitski is inconsistent but moments of excellence and inspiration. Out of all the contemporary singer-songwriter types I think Torres is the best, she's got the PJ Harvey snarl and bleakness of Cat Power.

Yeah an interesting, sorta leftfield but still hi-fi producer could do her albums a lot of good.

Torres is great, I've only heard her self-titled debut, after I saw her randomly at an Austin TX show 7 years ago, but I was struck by the sound, by how interesting her voice can get, the mix of honey and twang and tremble. I wanna throw up now after writing that description.
 

woops

is not like other people
I'm listening to the new Angel Olsen and I do like her voice but the arrangements are so predictable as always. The guitars always sound exactly like you'd expect, the reverb on the vocals is consistently beyond cliche, when there are drums they always have a very straight, plodding inertia to them that sucks any sense of purpose out. Really frustrating because her stuff is almost good and yet ultimately disappointing.

Japanese Breakfast are always completely unmemorable though. Mitski is inconsistent but moments of excellence and inspiration. Out of all the contemporary singer-songwriter types I think Torres is the best, she's got the PJ Harvey snarl and bleakness of Cat Power.
very observant and professional review.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
It's more just that I've spent a lot of time in my life listening to music like this. I was a big 4AD obsessive in my teens. You don't get Throwing Muses style drums on a lot of things but there's a lot to be said for rhythm sections that go beyond functional and production choices that are interesting even if they aren't the best ones. Olsen seems like she has more personality than the choices she makes.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
The second and third Torres albums go even further from the traditional set-up of this style but I think the first album is still her best - arresting urgent performances and really dark, fearless lyrics
 

sus

Well-known member
I'm listening to the new Angel Olsen and I do like her voice but the arrangements are so predictable as always. The guitars always sound exactly like you'd expect, the reverb on the vocals is consistently beyond cliche, when there are drums they always have a very straight, plodding inertia to them that sucks any sense of purpose out. Really frustrating because her stuff is almost good and yet ultimately disappointing.

Wait is this Whole New Mess? That's a demos albums
 
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