Welcome back Mitski. The acclaimed singer-songwriter has announced her new album, Laurel Hell, and shared the second single from it.
‘The Only Heartbreaker’ was co-written with Dan Wilson from alternative rock band Semisonic, and comes accompanied by a music video co-directed by Maegan Houang and Jeff Desom (see below). It follows the track ‘Working for the Knife, which Mitski released recently.
“Sometimes you are just the bad guy in the relationship,” the singer explained about ‘The Only Heartbreaker’ in an interview on Apple Music 1. “Sometimes you’re the one who keeps making mistakes, who’s breaking your favorite person’s heart, and there’s nothing you can do about it because you can’t just suddenly be a better person.
But I also wanted to capture, I’m not sure if I was able to, but I wanted to capture a deeper, sadder feeling. You kind of realize, ‘oh, maybe I’m the one always making mistakes because I’m the one always trying, and I’m the one who’s always looking ugly in the relationship because I’m the only one revealing myself,’ you know?
So I was hoping the first chorus was sincere. Like, I’m the bad guy, I’m the only heartbreaker. And the second chorus was hopefully ironic. Like, sure, I’ll be the only bad guy in this relationship.”
Laurel Hell will be Mitski’s first album since she went on hiatus after her fifth studio album, 2018’s Be the Cowboy. That album was highly acclaimed by critics, making many year-end lists in 2018, including being name Best Album of the Year by Pitchfork.
In support of her new album, Mitski will also be heading out on a sold out tour in 2022. See the full dates on her official website.
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Laurel Hell is set for release on February 4th, 2022, via Dead Oceans. It can be pre-ordered here.
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