Music video director Maegan Houang said of the content of the music video, according to a press release: “This video is heavily inspired by Romanticism and paintings and artwork from the Victorian era. Like the lyrics of the song ‘Stay Soft,’ paintings from that era have a gentle quality, but they still evoke a certain feeling of unexplored darkness and danger. I want the audience to feel safe within this fabricated world and then realize that the character Mitski plays is being hunted. The violence lurking beneath the surface emerges, and yet is still transformed into something beautiful via dance. Through the dance sequence, Mitski’s character is able to conquer the violence, but not without irreparable harm to her psyche.”

Mitski herself offered great detail in regard to the writing process and themes of the song, saying, again according to a press release: “‘Stay Soft’ was a more straightforward rock song when I wrote it on guitar, but the darkly sexual lyrics sung in that context felt too heavy and melodramatic. So we couched the depressing lyrics in an inviting dance beat, which is a trick people have used for hundreds of years. The remnants of the original grungy feeling can be heard starting at the instrumental interlude, when the distorted guitar comes in…This song, frankly, is about hurt people finding each other, and using sex to make sense of their pain. This is by no means the correct way to cope with trauma, but it’s a thing people do regardless, and I always want to write songs about what we actually do, so that we don’t feel alone in them.”

Laurel Hell is the singer-songwriter’s seventh album, following on from 2018’s Be The Cowboy. The record was highly anticipated, especially given that in 2019, Mitski announced an indefinite hiatus that seemed at the time to be her final farewell when it came to making music. Thankfully, this was not to be, and she announced that she had changed her mind in early 2020, and that she would indeed be returning to music. You can stream and purchase the new record at this link. 

Mitski will be embarking on a North American tour, as well as European and UK tour later this month. Unfortunately for fans just catching wind of this now, both her North American dates and EU/UK dates are completely sold out. In the event that extra tickets do crop up, more information can be found here.

Speaking of the lyrics from the new track, Mitski mentions that while some of “Love Me More”‘s lyrics were written pre-Covid, their meaning has taken a new form since the pandemic: “As ‘Love Me More’ was written pre-pandemic, lyrics like ‘If I keep myself at home’ had different meanings than what they would now, but I kept them on the album because I found that some of the sentiments not only remained the same, but were accentuated by the lockdown.”

The new video for “Love Me More” is, frankly, a strange yet beautiful one. The attention to set design is impeccable, the symbolism from her imagery is maniacally wonderful, and the 80s pulse drives the video with an urgent energy. The vibe is contagious, thus a perfect teaser for the new album.

Laurel Hell is served alongside a gargantuan North America and Europe tour, hitting a massive 55 dates with all but 3 sold out. See the tour dates below:

17/02  – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel – SOLD OUT
18/02  – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz – SOLD OUT
19/02  – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern – SOLD OUT
21/02  – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City – SOLD OUT
22/02  – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre – SOLD OUT
24/02  – Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall – SOLD OUT
25/02  – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum – SOLD OUT
26/02  – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater – SOLD OUT
28/02  – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren – SOLD OUT
02/03  – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall – SOLD OUT
03/03  – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall – SOLD OUT
04/03  – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater – SOLD OUT
05/03  – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater – SOLD OUT
07/03  – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall – SOLD OUT
09/03  – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre – SOLD OUT
10/03  – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre – SOLD OUT
12/03  – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom – SOLD OUT
14/03  – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre – SOLD OUT
15/03  – Milwaukee, WI @ Miller High Life Theatre – SOLD OUT
17/03  – Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre – SOLD OUT
18/03  – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall – SOLD OUT
19/03  – Montreal, QC @ St-Jean-Baptiste Church – SOLD OUT
21/03  – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner – SOLD OUT
22/03  – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner – SOLD OUT
24/03  – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall – SOLD OUT
25/03  – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall – SOLD OUT
26/03  – Washington, DC @ The Anthem – SOLD OUT
27/03  – Washington, DC @ The Anthem – SOLD OUT
29/03  – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE – SOLD OUT
30/03  – Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall – SOLD OUT
31/03  – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium – SOLD OUT
21/04  – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory – SOLD OUT
22/04  – Leeds, UK @ University Union Refectory – SOLD OUT
23/04  – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom – SOLD OUT
25/04  – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street – SOLD OUT
26/04  – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy – SOLD OUT
28/04  – London, UK @ The Roundhouse – SOLD OUT
29/04 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton – SOLD OUT
30/04  – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique Festival – SOLD OUT
02/05 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix – SOLD OUT
03/05  – Paris, FR @ L’Olympia – SOLD OUT
04/05  – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso – SOLD OUT
06/05,  – Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
07/05  – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks SOLD OUT
09/05  – Berlin, DE @ Metropol – SOLD OUT
10/05  – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega – SOLD OUT
11/05  – Stockholm, SE @ Fållan SOLD OUT
12/05  – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene SOLD OUT
14/05  – Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik – SOLD OUT
15/05  – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria – SOLD OUT
17/05  – Vienna, AT @ WUK – SOLD OUT
18/05  – Prague, CZ @ Archa Theatre – SOLD OUT
19/05  – Munich, DE @ Strom – SOLD OUT
02/07  – Stockholm, SE @ Lollapalooza Stockholm
16/09 – 18/09  – Los Angeles, CA @ Primavera Sound LA

See the artwork for Laurel Hell below: