startling songs bloom in a suitably Gothic setting

In her search for “beautiful, seated theaters” for her forthcoming spring tour, Mitski may well have already chosen the ultimate in the genre. Tonight, the singer describes London’s Union Chapel as “the most beautiful venue I’ve ever had the privilege to stand in” — a place she “would haunt the shit out of”. The space is resplendent in Gothic frescoes and vaulted ceilings: ideal both acoustically and aesthetically for what will be a mesmerising sermon.

Contrary to the artist’s often histrionic performances, this is a remarkably spare show, and all the more striking for it. The main bulk of the set revolves around the recently-released seventh album ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’, with a full acoustic rendition of the project from start to finish. Joined only by an electro-acoustic guitar and a double bass, the enunciated clarity of Mitski’s voice is startlingly and consistently evident for the duration of the hour-long performance.

Union Chapel chimes well with the sumptuous sound of Mitski’s seventh record, and chafes intriguingly with themes of destruction evident on it. Under the eye of the petal-shaped stained glass high up on the eastern wall, acoustic versions of these songs allow the poetry within to bloom. She gestures to her chest during ‘The Deal’: “I want someone to take this soul/I can’t bear to keep it” she sings as she proffers the imaginary spirit to the seated audience.

Mitski Performs At Union Chapel. Credit: Lorne Thomson/Redferns

There are several moments like this, in which Mitski uses quiet mimes to emphasise her more impactful lyrics: she wears a desolate, far-off expression as ‘The Frost’ comes to a close, while on ‘I Love Me After You’, she draws up her simple jumper to show a slice of midriff, as if to bare herself once more to the “darkness” that sees her naked in her window.

It’s all, of course, an act, but one you might never see through does she not herself reveal it: “Okay, let’s get back into character” she says after her longest run of patter between ‘I Don’t Like My Mind’ and ‘The Deal’.

It’s a young crowd: one that sits in raptures during the play-through of ‘The Land Is Inhospitable…’ and duly joins in for the singalong portion of “fan favourites”: ‘Francis Forever’, ‘I Bet On Losing Dogs’ (which Mitski finishes up in a foetal death pose), ‘Love Me More’, ‘A Pearl’ and encore ‘A Burning Hill’, performed (“surprise!”) from the pulpit.

Mitski has acknowledged the potential repercussions of such relatively exclusive bookings, and that “feeling of scarcity” she referenced this week on her X (formally Twitter) profile is compounded tonight in London: here for one night only, hopeful chancers stand in the rain on the off chance a space might open up for them. The antithesis of cram gigging, it’s a strategy that fits Mitski’s boutique approach to music – and for the lucky 900 in the congregation tonight, it is also a blessing.

Mistki played:

‘Bug Like an Angel’
‘Buffalo Replaced’
‘Heaven’
‘I Don’t Like My Mind’
‘The Deal’
‘When Memories Snow’
‘My Love Mine All Mine’
‘The Frost’
‘Star’
‘I’m Your Man’
‘I Love Me After You’
‘Francis Forever’’
‘I Bet on Losing Dogs’
‘Love Me More’
‘A Pearl’
‘A Burning Hill’

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