Mitski Releases Frantically Poetic New Single, 'Where's My Phone?'

As though she knew we’ve been awaiting her return all along, an immediate and fierce drum line permeates the melody, wasting no time for introductions and giving no time to process before throwing us into Mitski’s comeback single, ‘Where’s My Phone?’ Released January 16th as the debut single to her upcoming eight studio record, Nothing's About to Happen to Me, the track presents us instantly with a beautiful yet panicked delirium, expressed in heavy bass, quick guitar riffs, and a repetitious and desperate voice, calling out beneath it all.

The lyrics in the verses move so quickly they are almost hard to catch, though you are always able to pick up the desperately repeated refrain, where she questions, just as the title reflects, “Where did it go? / Where’s my phone?” It is a fourth wall break draped with a certain essence of modernity and self-awareness, requiring and subsequently possessing the precision to be executed well and without what many of the younger generations may listlessly deem “cringe.” While listening, you can picture the frantic and fixated search of a mad woman, lost to the sea of noise that permeates our techno-reality. Oftentimes, that frantic mad woman has been you, has been all of us. It holds the mirror up to the listener without giving off the impression of trying to be relatable or even poignantly reflective of the times. It is less so recognition of the technology itself, but rather the mental state such an attachment leaves us in.

A heavy hitting rock sound decorated with fuzzy rhythm guitar guides her vocals, coating it without overwhelming it. It’s a sound reminiscent of her early work—distorted and textured guitar with buzzing and blissful vocals baked within as one. The instrumentals encircle her voice without burying it, creating a tone reflective of the mental state of the speaker. To be enveloped while still maintaining power and booming projection.

The second verse and bridge to follow then descend into what almost feels like poetic madness. It is refined, yet chaotic and expansive, vibrating through the listener to an unsettling degree. As we freefall into the cycling down and out of her spiral, we hear the repetition of lyrics, "Clear wax, melted in the dome," followed by a hauntingly warped and anxious chorus of "pa-pa-pa, pa-pa-pa," making the listener feel as though the walls are slowly closing in.

As she fades away, it is though she can barely get the words out anymore, yet the goal of the speaker is still in mind, as she mumbles on a loop, sounding as though she is crawling through the rubble of her own impending doom with gritted teeth, still crying out, "Where did it go? / Where's my phone?"

Pre-save Mitski's upcoming record Nothing's About to Happen to Me, set for release on February 27, 2026, here.