The Artist: Mitski
Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and American father, Mitski Miyawaki moved frequently as a child - living in over a dozen countries before settling in the U.S.
She studied classical composition at SUNY Purchase, where she self-released her first two albums as student projects. But it was 2014’s Bury Me at Makeout Creek - her first guitar-driven, lo-fi release - that began to shape her cult following.
From there, each record has been a left turn.
Be the Cowboy marked a deliberate shift. Mitski stripped out the guitars, tightened the structures and leaned into performance - creating character-driven vignettes, inspired in part by David Bowie and theatrical art-pop.
Creatively, this enabled Mitski to blur the line between persona and self. She plays the role of the 'cowboy' - a lonely, powerful figure who moves through the world without needing anything. It was ironic, of course.
Underneath the control and polish, the songs ache with longing - for connection, for freedom, for something just out of reach.
The Record: Be the Cowboy (2018)
This is Mitski at her most composed - and her most undone.
Geyser opens the album like, well... a geyser. An organ swells, a ghostly vocal surges - it's a slow burn, like pressure rising.
On Nobody, she spins isolation into a glittering pop song, its upbeat rhythm dancing against a backdrop of longing.
Two Slow Dancers closes the album in stillness, a devastating slow fade.
The production is crisp and theatrical. Songs rarely pass the three-minute mark. Each one feels like a scene - longing, jealousy, lust, control - lit by a spotlight, then gone.
It’s theatre, not therapy.
Play Now:
🔊 Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube
Start With:
- Nobody - Lonely Disco.
- Washing Machine Heart - Pulsing and bitter.
- Two Slow Dancers - Quiet devastation in a school gym.
