Mistine Puts Climate Awareness at the Heart of Her Debut Album
Mistine
Gritty guitars, lush synths, and an electronic-pop fusion that feels ripped from the early 2000s, i guess this is where we’re at is the striking debut album from rising singer-songwriter Mistine. Across 11 tracks, she laces atmospheric love songs with an undercurrent of environmental consciousness, delivering emotional vulnerability and magnetic sonic textures.
Mistine’s warm, inviting vocals have a magnetic pull, wrapping listeners in melodies that feel personal and universal. Though on the surface many tracks seem like reflections on relationships, they carry a quiet but persistent message of sustainability.
“I am constantly thinking about our environment. I really try to incorporate ways to tell the story of what our world is going through in the climate crisis without explicitly saying it in the song. I began exploring thinking about our planet as a friend or relationship and how each member would feel through this distraction and climate change—how we’re trying to preserve what we have left—as if I were trying to salvage a relationship with a loved one.”
Mistine
The journey kicks off with ‘changing with the weather’, a track packed with unexpected chord shifts and rich instrumentation that immediately grabs the ear, arguably the most rock-forward moment on the record. It’s quickly followed by ‘overrated‘, which veers sharply in another direction. The song opens with a sample of casual, chaotic party chatter, setting the stage for Mistine’s portrayal of feeling like an outsider in a world obsessed with being cool, beautiful, and socially desirable. At just 1:32, it’s short but profound.
Tracks like ‘lithium town‘ and ‘(of u)’ showcase Mistine’s signature production style: stacked vocals, distorted effects, and layered soundscapes that build a sonic world all her own. She isn’t afraid to add depth through complexity, crafting music that feels three-dimensional and richly textured.
In between those, ‘vermont‘ offers a soft, nostalgic ballad that touches the soul. With poetic lyrics that intertwine natural landscapes and romantic longing, Mistine again uses personal storytelling to explore environmental themes in a subtle but powerful way. “work in progress” is a half-formed track that breaks the album’s rhythm with intentional rawness. It’s a clear, punchy statement—about the Earth, about ourselves: Why don’t we just do something about it?
Songs like ‘just for you‘, ‘better days’, and ‘see u somewhere‘ dive deeper into Mistine’s introspective side, reinforcing her sonic blueprint: dreamy synths, electronic flourishes, metallic textures, and warped vocals that create a nostalgic, futuristic sound all at once.
The album closes with ‘summertime’ and ‘another day’, solidifying Mistine’s voice as a bold newcomer unafraid to blend grunge, experimental pop, and haunting electronics into a cohesive whole.
Born in a log cabin and raised in New Jersey, Mistine studied at USC’s Thornton School of Music and toured for over two years with Conan Gray. Along the way, she’s shared stages with Aespa, Biig Piig, McKenna Grace, and Haiden Henderson, and recently appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Mistine is an advocate. With a Master’s of Science for Sustainable Business Leadership, she’s worked as a Sustainability Coordinator at high-profile events like the Grateful Dead’s Las Vegas Sphere residency and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.
i guess this is where we’re at isn’t just Mistine’s most daring and experimental work; it’s her protest. Her sonic manifesto. A bold first step toward carving out her own space in the alternative pop landscape, one synth-soaked, planet-loving track at a time.