Mitski - Be The Cowboy - Cassette

Where have all the cowboys gone? Be The Cowboy finds Mitski Miyawaki examining the expectations we have for artists to be beaming and strong but still vulnerable, an expectation she found rather exhausting after the success of 2016’s Puberty 2: “A lot of this record was me not having any feelings, being completely spent, but then trying to rally myself and wake up and get back to Mitski. I was feeling really nihilistic and trying to make pop songs.” Lead single “Geyser” finds Mitski’s porcelain-like vocals and uplifting piano vamps fighting against a bed of electronic glitches and brooding synth strings, before all the uncertainty and vulnerability is swept away by an enormous crescendo of drums and guitars announcing Mitski as indie’s new vanguard. The rest of the LP finds her charismatic balladry coupled with dense piano, guitar and drum arrangements, accentuated with electronic textures courtesy of longtime co-producer Patrick Hyland.

1. Geyser
2. Why Didn't You Stop Me?
3. Old Friend
4. A Pearl
5. Lonesome Love
6. Remember My Name
7. Me and My Husband
8. Come Into the Water
9. Nobody
10. Pink in the Night
11. A Horse Named Cold Air
12. Washing Machine Heart
13. Blue Light
14. Two Slow Dancers