Last month, Mitski gave us an excellent new song and music video “Working for the Knife,” which didn’t do anything to dampen the enormous amount of hype around her vaunted songwriting prowess. Now she’s announced a full album, due for release in February. It’s called Laurel Hell, it was produced with her usual partner-in-crime Patrick Hyland, and we honestly can’t wait.
There’s a new song and music video to go along with the release. “The Only Heartbreaker” follows Mitski’s journey of realizing that she kills everything she touches, something she reacts to at first in horror before starting to embrace this strange power and — just like she did in “Working for the Knife” — finding release in absolutely cutting loose on the dance floor. It’s a great video and a great song.
A fun aside: “The Only Heartbreaker” was co-written with Dan Wilson, best-known as the lead singer of Semisonic of “Closing Time” fame. In the days since “Closing Time” left the Billboard charts and become enshrined as the go-to anthem for last calls in bars across the world, Wilson has become a go-to collaborator for songwriters. He’s worked with Pink, the Chicks, Taylor Swift and even co-wrote Adele’s “Someone Like You,” netting not one but two Grammys. Not bad for a guy whose band almost got written off as a one-hit wonder.