Since she started teasing a new era of music, fans have been eagerly awaiting the follow up to Mitski’s seminal album Be The Cowboy, which landed at No. 3 on the 2018 Uproxx Music Critics Poll. Last month, her track “Working For The Knife” pointed to her next album, Laurel Hell, which she has now officially announced with the emotional track “The Only Heartbreaker.”
The single’s visual was co-directed by Maegan Houang and Jeff Desom and marks the first time the singer has been filmed in front of a green screen. It shows Mitski dancing through a forest and reeling in despair as she realizes that she’s unintentionally killing everything she comes into contact with.
Ahead of video’s release, Mitksi sat down with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe to discuss the track and her upcoming album. She noted that the song’s inspiration comes from a few realizations in past relationships:
“Sometimes you are just the bad guy in the relationship. Sometimes you’re the one who keeps making mistakes, who’s breaking your favorite person’s heart, and there’s nothing you can do about it because you can’t just suddenly be a better person. I wanted to capture a deeper, sadder feeling. You kind of realize, oh, maybe I’m the one always making mistakes because I’m the one always trying, and I’m the one who’s always looking ugly in the relationship because I’m the only one revealing myself. So I was hoping the first chorus was sincere. Like, I’m the bad guy, I’m the only heartbreaker. And the second chorus was hopefully ironic. Like, sure, I’ll be the only bad guy in this relationship.”
Watch Mitski’s “The Only Heartbreaker” video above and find her Laurel Hell album art and tracklist below.
1. “Valentine, Texas”
2. “Working For The Knife”
3. “Stay Soft”
4. “Everyone”
5. “Heat Lightning”
6. “The Only Heartbreaker”
7. “Love Me More”
8. “There’s Nothing Left For You”
9. “Should’ve Been Me”
10. “I Guess”
11. “That’s Our Lamp”
Laurel Hell is out 2/4/2022 via Dead Oceans. Pre-order it here.