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's Conservatory of Music. 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
ProducerScot Moriarty
Mitski chronology
Lush
(2012)
Retired from Sad, New Career in Business
(2013)

Background

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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, 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

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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

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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.[citation needed]

References

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  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. ^ 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.
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