Lush is the debut studio album by American musician Mitski.[1] Mitski self-released the album on January 31, 2012 as her junior year project at SUNY Purchase. It was recorded and mixed by Scot Moriarty.[2]

Lush
A blurry photo of the artist with her face partially obscured by her hair.
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 31, 2012 (2012-01-31)
GenreChamber pop
Length26:01
LabelSelf-released
Mitski chronology
Lush
(2012)
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business
(2013)

Background edit

Mitski described the album as by "someone who simply wrote her feelings and didn't think about how her narrative was being conveyed", describing a version of herself that is "long gone now". Patrick Hyland, producer of all of Mitski's subsequent albums, described the album with the quote: "Lush was in college, like, 'Oh, my gosh, there are studios! There are other instrumentalists!"[3]

The album is primarily chamber pop,[4] with elements of lo-fi and punk rock.[4] Lush has been described as "mournful" by Rolling Stone.[5] It is "her most piano-laden work," characterized by Nylon as "a series of vivid, smooth, and unraveling narratives."[6]

Critical reception edit

In a career retrospective following her 2018 studio album Be the Cowboy, Jesse Herb of Atwood Magazine said that the album "plays out like a beautiful stream of consciousness" and praised Mitski's poetic lyricism.[7]

Track listing edit

Original Bandcamp version/re-release version[8][9]
No.TitleLength
1."Liquid Smooth"2:49
2."Eric"3:17
3."Brand New City"2:12
4."Real Men"2:41
5."Wife"2:39
6."Abbey"2:46
7."Bag of Bones"4:36
8."Door"2:12
9."Pearl Diver"2:44
Total length:26:01

All tracks are written by Mitski

Current Bandcamp version[10]
No.TitleLength
1."Liquid Smooth"2:49
2."Wife"2:39
3."Abbey"2:49
4."Brand New City"2:12
5."Eric"3:17
6."Bag of Bones"4:36
7."Door"2:12
8."Pearl Diver"2:44
Total length:23:15

In July 2022, the track listing on streaming services was modified to match the current Bandcamp version, with "Real Men" moved to the end of the album.[11] Sometime in late 2012-early 2013, "Real Men" was removed from the bandcamp tracklist and the tracklist was re-arranged.

References edit

  1. ^ "Lush, by Mitski". Mitski. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Mitski - Artist Biography & Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  3. ^ Martoccio, Angie (December 27, 2021). "Mitski Had to Quit Music to Love It". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Sutliff, Amileah (July 26, 2018). "A Mitski Primer". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Wolper, Caitlin (August 16, 2018). "How Mitski Became the Cowboy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ^ Wolper, Caitlin (February 7, 2022). "Mitski's Albums Ranked, From Lush to Laurel Hell". Nylon. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Herb, Jesse (October 19, 2018). "From Lush to Be the Cowboy: Along for the Ride of Mitski's Evolution". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Lush - Mitski". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  9. ^ "Lush - Mitski". Apple Music. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "Lush - Mitski". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  11. ^ "Lush - Mitski". Apple Music. Retrieved July 28, 2022.

External links edit