Mitski has launched a new era with the release of her propulsive single ‘Where’s My Phone?’, the first taste of her forthcoming eighth studio album ‘Nothing’s About to Happen to Me’. The record is set for release on 27 February 2026 via indie label Dead Oceans, marking the artist’s swift return following her acclaimed 2023 album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’.
The new track arrives alongside an intense, surreal music video directed by Noel Paul, expanding on the album’s narrative about a reclusive woman living in an unkempt house. In the clip, Mitski moves through and around a large, old home, fetching water from a well, circling its rooms and grounds, and reacting as townspeople begin to invade her space, underscoring the project’s themes of isolation, scrutiny and fragile interior freedom. The video draws inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s novels, including We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, and has been compared to the unsettling domestic decay of Grey Gardens.
Musically, ‘Where’s My Phone?’ pushes Mitski into more frenetic territory, pairing fuzzy guitars and live drums with orchestrated strings to create an anxious, driving indie rock sound. The song was written by Mitski and produced and engineered by longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland, with mastering by Bob Weston. It features contributions from her touring band and an ensemble of string players, with arranger and conductor Drew Erickson overseeing orchestral parts recorded at storied studios Sunset Sound and TTG.
Lyrically, the single circles around the repeated plea “Where did it go / Where’s my phone?”, using the lost device as a focal point for spiralling thoughts and a desire for mental emptiness. Across the song, Mitski sings about wanting her mind to be “a clear glass” with nothing inside, reflecting the album’s wider exploration of a character who feels deviant in public but free within her own chaotic domestic world. The track’s jittery rhythm and escalating arrangement mirror that psychological tension, hinting at a record that will balance narrative concept with emotional immediacy.
‘Nothing’s About to Happen to Me’ is described as a concept-driven album built around a “rich narrative” centred on that reclusive protagonist, whose messy home becomes both sanctuary and stage. Mitski wrote all of the songs and performs all vocals on the album, which leans heavily on live instrumentation and ensemble arrangements, continuing the organic, band-forward approach of her recent work while pushing into more theatrical territory. Early reactions from critics have highlighted ‘Where’s My Phone?’ as an anxiety-inducing but compelling lead single that sets a feverish tone for the full album release next month.
