Mitski unveils mesmerising new video for ‘Stay Soft’
I never thought I’d describe something as pre-raphaelite pop, but here it is, the brand new single by Mitski. ‘Stay Soft’, taken from the singer songwriter’s brand-new album Laurel Hell, arrives in tandem with an impressive new music video directed by Maegan Houang, who previously worked with Mtiski on the video for ‘The Only Heartbreaker’. Laurel Hell is available now via Dead Oceans.
A magnificent blend of 1980s David Bowie-esque arrangments, diaristic meanderings on isolation and failure, and surging powerhouse vocals, ‘Stay Soft’ is exactly what Mitski fans have been waiting for. At once hushed and crying out to be heard, this piece of theatrical popcraft sees Mitski plunge way down into her inner depths and bring up a glimmering, milkwhite pearl.
The accompanying music video, which suffuses the track with the grandeur of a Kate Bush classic, is something to behold as well. In a recent statement, director, Maegan Houang said: “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 realise that the character Mitski plays is being hunted.”
The arrival of the ‘Stay Soft’ music video comes after Mitski opened up about her return to music. In a recent interview, she expressed doubts as to whether she made the right decision coming back to the “super-saturated” music industry. Explaining her decision to leave music, Mitski said: “It was simpler to just explain it away as physical exhaustion which, of course, was part of it,” she began. “But looking back, it was more mentally [about] being a working person in the music industry, which is like this super-saturated version of consumerism”.
At the time of her departure, Mitski clarified that she intended to return to music at some point, but now that she has, she seems uncertain as to if she’s made the right decision: “How does it feel to be releasing a record again? Terrible. Absolutely terrible,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Oh Jesus, here we go again. I thought I was having fun and now it’s no fun anymore’.”
Mitski will open for Harry Styles at his forthcoming European tour dates. She is also set to headline her own tour later this year. You can check out Far Out’s review of Laurel Hell here.
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