Songwriting powerhouse Mitski released her eighth studio album, “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me,” this past Friday, Feb. 27, a day with many high-profile releases. Following her 2023 single “My Love Mine All Mine” becoming her first to chart, there was much anticipation for the singer, now at the commercial height of her career thus far.

I don’t like to beat around the bush with my feelings on music, and I especially won’t with this album. “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” is simply sublime in every sense of the word. Like her last record, it demands your full attention on every front and on every track from start to finish, and rewards you for it.

Mitski is joined by an enormous roster of backing musicians on the album, which sees her touring band paired with everything from a vocal quartet (“Charon’s Obol”) to a full horn section (“Cats”).

The best term I can provide for Mitski’s instrumental ear is Americana, both in the genre sense and in the word’s wide breadth of meanings. All at once, she sounds like a neon-lit bar, a house concert, a rainy walk in the city, a mental breakdown and a field of daisies. Every song sounds different from the last, yet none can be mistaken for anyone else except Mitski. Her style is worn-in, ethereal, heavy-hitting and indescribable; you need to hear it to understand it.

Even more than the instrumentation, Mitski’s signature is found in her lyrics. “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” tells the story of a reclusive woman living in an unkempt house, deathly afraid of the outside world. The record opens on the note of regret with “In a Lake” and some of the best lines on any track.

“Some days, you just go the long way / To stay off of memory lane,” Mitski sings, showing the plainspoken relatability of her lyrics.

The rest of the album juggles everything from codependence (“If I Leave”) to insecurity (“Rules”) to female autonomy (“Dead Women”) and handles them all artfully and honestly. Swaying standout “Cats” opens with the line, “I won’t leave you, cause I still love you / So it’s up to you if you choose to go.” The words feel direct yet well thought out, a tone that reverberates throughout the entire long play.

I tried for a while to think of a clever conclusion that would do justice to “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me” and Mitski’s trademark style. However, I struggled to find the words, just like it’s hard to find the words to characterize such a unique, stellar album. It is just plain hard to describe.

Listen to it and you’ll understand why.

9/10 (Must-listens: “If I Leave,” “Cats”)