In early January, fans of indie singer/songwriter Mitski rejoiced as previews of her eighth studio album, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me,” appeared on her social media accounts.
With over 22 million monthly listeners on Spotify and her music trending on apps like TikTok year after year, Mitski is well-established as a key player in the indie music world. Despite this, Mitski lives a very private life. She is not active on social media in a personal capacity, nor does she often agree to interviews, leading fans to speculate about what her new album might entail.
Mitski’s discography is full of songs about heartbreak, and her music is often referred to as “sad girl music” by casual listeners. Many fans theorized that the album would be a step away from the sad themes that people often associate with Mitski and would take a lighter tone. However, the album would prove to be sufficiently melancholic.
Mitski’s music is not strictly autobiographical like many may assume. While she draws from personal experiences and observations, she has also been known to write fictional narratives in her songs, often from the perspectives of personas. Although we don’t know how much of “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” parallels Mitski’s real life, the storytelling in the album may be her most thematically focused to date.
On Feb. 27, 2026, Mitski released “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” through the label Dead Ocean. On the very first track, “In a Lake,” listeners are pulled into the singer’s rumination with the first lyrics in the album: “I’d never live in a small town/ I’ve made too many mistakes.” The rest of the album continues with similar themes of regret and isolation; in every track, we can get the impression that the singer exists in a state of limbo or stasis.
The fourth track, “If I Leave,” illustrates this well. The song opens with the singer contemplating leaving her partner. The track peaks in intensity during the bridge, where the singer admits that there is a darkness in her life, but she quickly returns to the chorus, where she once again contemplates her choice.
Similarly, the second song, “Where’s My Phone?”, begins with the singer frantically searching for her phone. Without her phone, the protagonist’s mind floods with negative thoughts, and the singer repeats, “I want my mind to be a clear glass/ Clear glass with nothing instead.” Anxious instrumentals reminiscent of “Bury Me at Makeout Creek” overpower the vocals and end in a distorted guitar solo, with the singer never finding her phone.
The final track, “Lightning,” hints at an end to the stagnation, as the protagonist sits out in the rain, expecting to die, contradicting the album’s title, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me.” Mitski sings, “I can hear the song of my death/ Singing for the lightning to come.”
“Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” continues with the “Americana” sound that Mitski used in her last album, “The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” while revisiting the indie rock sounds from “Bury Me at Makeout Creek and Puberty 2.” Although only 35 minutes long, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” is a beautiful exploration of stagnation.
