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10.0
128287
10.0 |
Dork
With depth and intent matched to bright but deceptively complex 80s sheen, ‘Laurel Hell’ is a record that takes Mistki’s existing talents and raises them to a whole new level
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10.0
128339
10.0 |
The Observer
The indie artist delivers devastating emotional truths and unsettling imagery – with sharp hooks and an 80s pop sheen
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9.0
128336
9.0 |
Vinyl Chapters
Mitski’s Laurel Hell is yet another staggeringly beautiful album that proves just how underrated the singer-songwriter is
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9.0
128231
9.0 |
Exclaim
Continuing the path that Be the Cowboy paved, Laurel Hell is composed of vignette-like songs with the sounds of disco and pop taking centre stage
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9.0
128278
9.0 |
DIY
You can’t help but feel that it’s all one broken brick away from tumbling down, which is exactly why it plays out with such delicate urgency
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8.5
128228
8.5 |
Under The Radar
Several songs were written before or during 2018, the same time Be the Cowboy catapulted her to indie stardom. Yet while that breakthrough was a grand statement of female empowerment, Laurel Hell is grounded in the details of imperfect relationships and mistakes compounded
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8.2
128234
8.2 |
Northern Transmissions
The songs are varied and there are uptempo and downtempo songs alike, songs that are universal but also so very personal, and lyrics that walk the line between clever and surprisingly earnest
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8.0
128236
8.0 |
Gigwise
Uplifting the hopeless heartbreak of being alive
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8.0
128237
8.0 |
Mojo
Her balance of mesmerising, confessional intensity with sculpted pop instincts remains an unfailing pleasure throughout. Print edition only
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8.0
128238
8.0 |
Uncut
The songs, reworked with producer Patrick Hyland over a three-year period, shapeshift in time to the lyrics. Print edition only
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8.0
128249
8.0 |
Clash
‘Laurel Hell’ is a big album that demands to be known, full of indie-pop wonders and most of her most moving ballads yet
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8.0
128262
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
After nearly quitting music, the indie hero is back with a proudly unresolved album
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8.0
128229
8.0 |
The Skinny
Laurel Hell, Mitski’s bold return to music, brings enchanting beats, gut-wrenching honesty, and even more wisdom
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8.0
128279
8.0 |
Paste Magazine
Just as every upbeat song is a chase or journey, Laurel Hell as a whole is a march, working toward that which hurts you for the little rewards it offers
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8.0
128225
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Whilst Laurel Hell doesn’t necessarily feel like a new Mitski album, her talent as a songwriter is strong enough to support these new contexts to her storytelling
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8.0
128352
8.0 |
Albumism
There’s definite potential for this to be the new favorite Mitski album among a whole host of her fans. She is the full package, and with Laurel Hell, she’s surely one more viral hit away from a GRAMMY Awards sweep
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8.0
128270
8.0 |
NME
The singer-songwriter almost quit before writing her thought-provoking sixth album, which blends hints of disco strut with a bold sense of the theatrical
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8.0
128290
8.0 |
All Music
A bit of a slow builder with an almost cinematic trajectory, Laurel Hell begins with a droning, monotone pop and the lyrics "Let's step carefully into the dark/Once we're in, I'll remember my way around"
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8.0
128292
8.0 |
Evening Standard
The Japanese-American musician may find her success uncomfortable - but she still sounds great
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8.0
128298
8.0 |
The Independent
The tension between a craving to dance and the yearning to walk away dominates the new record
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8.0
128300
8.0 |
musicOMH
With Laurel Hell she has come back from the precipice of the abyss with a work that provides both continuation and illuminating rebirth
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7.8
128223
7.8 |
Pitchfork
Mitski’s sixth album is an austere, nuanced, and disaffected indie-pop record that, in part, addresses her turbulent relationship with her own career
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7.5
128283
7.5 |
Beats Per Minute
Despite Laurel Hell‘s unevenness, Mitski’s persistent vulnerability makes her music inherently beautiful and honest, reminding us all of how primal and painful the experience of being human is
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7.0
128224
7.0 |
PopMatters
Mitski’s Laurel Hell possesses a kind of weird timelessness. The album seems like an artifact from the past that somehow seems relevant in the present
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7.0
128326
7.0 |
Crack
Laurel Hell, Mitski’s sixth album and her formal return from hiatus, condenses a life’s worth of these devastations into 11 short tracks
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7.0
128365
7.0 |
God Is In The TV
Mitski has gained a loyal fanbase over the course of her six albums due to her lyrical relatability, so describing life as a hard-to-navigate puzzle strengthens her musical knack
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7.0
128824
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Laurel Hell works as a sister album to Be the Cowboy but more personal and more honed-in on a synth-heavy sound than that previous release’s sprawl
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6.7
128353
6.7 |
A.V. Club
While Laurel Hell takes the singer-songwriter in new directions, the music loses its potency
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6.0
128312
6.0 |
The FT
Contradictory moods swirl in the singer-songwriter’s new album, which also marks her recommitment to music
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6.0
128226
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
Mitski’s adoption of the decade’s tropes on Laurel Hell comes across as muddled and at times mismatched to her songwriting
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6.0
128230
6.0 |
Loud And Quiet
There are moments of real magic on Laurel Hell, but it’s only half-invested in the sound it’s chosen for itself, leading to a frustratingly detached listening experience on an album that begs for physicality
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6.0
128269
6.0 |
Spectrum Culture
She encapsulates the intrinsic drive to create, but Laurel Hell is a work by and for Mitski alone
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