Where's My Phone? - Mitski | Review

"Where's My Phone?" by Mitski

Hey everyone! Here goes the first Earworm blog of 2026! Today I wanted to give my thoughts on Mitski's newest single Where's My Phone?. If you've been keeping up with the blog, you might have figured that I'm a huuuuge Mitski fan. After all, I made a two-part blog analyzing her whole discography (see here). When I saw that new Mitski music was on the way, it took over my whole brain and became all could think about until it came out last Friday. Okay I've rambled for long enough, let's get to work!!!

~ Review ~

"Where's My Phone?" by Mitski

Where to even begin? Going into this song, I had NO idea what to expect. The title and art direction were really throwing me for a loop, and I couldn't come up with any predictions if I tried. To a certain degree, this song is kind of like a return to form for Mitski. More specifically, this song is more reminiscent of her production and writing style on Bury Me At Makeout Creek and Puberty 2. Seeing as these two albums are definitely my favorite sound-wise, I was really happy to see her go in this direction. For that reason, this song really feels like a Mitski classic released in the modern day, which is so strange because she hasn't touched this sound/style in almost 10 years. Enough about the production though, let's talk about the showstopper of any Mitski song-- the writing. The main theme of this song is about yearning for complete simplicity in life. Over and over again, Mitski repeats the many ways she wishes her mind could be just a "clear glass", empty and plain. While this illustration sounds grim, most can probably relate to craving a sense of complete numbness when life is throwing a million things your way (with no break in sight). She's frantically asking where her phone might be as soon as the song starts. Where did I go? Where did I leave? Just where could I have put my phone?? My phone is missing, one of the few things in this world that can silence all the noise in my head. Until it turns up, she has to be fully present in life and carry the entire weight of it. You could make the argument that this song is a simple commentary on how obsessed we are with our phones, but isn't a little deeper than that? In the modern day, everyone has so much to worry about—especially young people. As expectations rise and the responsibilities of life pile up, of course we are going to devote a lot of our time into something that feels like a sanctuary from our everyday struggles. This song proposes an interesting question; maybe we are way too concerned about our phones, but is that really so wrong when life can be so demanding of us? This goes mostly unanswered, but there's a good point being made here. It's no wonder that our phones have become such a huge priority our lives.

Like most Mitski songs, there's a lot of good imagery in these lyrics. I love how she uses the image of a dead fly floating in a citronella candle to describe her need for complacency. Even though the bug is dead, it's thoughtless and peaceful, right? This lyric also reaffirms the belief that a completely careless life would devoid it of all its joys. Even if you manage to achieve complete tranquility, are you even going to feel alive anymore? Who knows if that's what she was really trying to comment on, that was just one of my interpretations.

The song feels scattered and uneasy as you continue to listen through, which is absolutely fitting considering the theme of the song. I really like the vocals leading up to that super addicting guitar-riff near the end. Mitski loves to add a crescendo to her songs and that is definitely on display in this song. I love it though! That aspect about her music always makes it feel very theatrical and is what makes it so unique. With that, I think I've said everything I needed to about this song.

"Where's My Phone?"

"Where's My Phone?" by Mitski

Mitski

Rating:

8/10

Notes:

• Love the production, similar to some of her older albums.

• Songwriting is good as always! There's a lot to speculate about the lyrics, which I appreciate.

• Very catchy, it's getting stuck in my head all the time.

Final Thoughts

Expanded Cover for "Nothing's About To Happen To Me" by Mitski

All in all, I was very pleased with this new song! It's a good sign of what's to come from her upcoming album Nothing's About To Happen To Me, which is set to release on February 27th of this year. It's unclear whether we will get to hear more music from this album before it releases, but if not, I can deal with a month-long wait time. You can probably expect a full-length review of this album when it releases because I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about it. I could go on and on about what I hope to see from this new album, but I will stay quiet for now, so I don't get my expectations all riled up. So, that's probably going to do for now.

As always, thank you so much for reading!

Earworm ~-~-~o

Thanks for reading!

-Joey :)