After 2 years of waiting the Japanese-American artist Mitski is back and she has improved even more, which we didn’t even know was possible after hearing wonderfully executed pieces of work like “Your Best American Girl”. But the genius has smitten us with her rays of damn smart lyrics and interesting production on her latest record “Be The Cowboy”.
I’ve been extremely invested in this record ever since “Geyser” came out, it has been engraved in my mind with that weird static noise at the beginning and the pure raw emotion and devotion to one person that just oozes from Mitski and has made an incredible opener to “Be The Cowboy”. And the second single definitely did not disappoint. “Nobody” has even made some waves in the wider public, even if it didn’t become a mainstream hit I don’t think Mitski had any goals like that. The second single wowed me with its really smart choices, like the lyrics “Venus, planet of love/Was destroyed by global warming” and just silly representations of extreme loneliness seen in “My God, I’m so lonely/So I open the window/To hear sounds of people”. The mellow production with the nostalgic piano, drums and guitar creates the perfect atmosphere of internal emptiness but also presents it in a happy, almost positive manner. Even the chorus fading out into the outro seamlessly just further pushes the isolated feel even further .
At this point I was super excited for the record and damn worried to not be disappointed but “Be The Cowboy” exceeded all my expectations. It gains lots of momentum on “Why Didn’t You Stop Me?” with that bouncy production that just pops and gets stuck in your head for lifetimes just to jump into the monotonous and sentimental “Old Friend” and then throws us in a whirl and just crashes on our heads with “A Pearl”, one of my absolute favorites, talking about an endless struggle to move on and drop the image, the “Pearl” that she’s still fascinated by, from her head. Some of the rawest and most intimate lyrics are delivered in the track “Lonesome Love”, which is also one of the shortest songs at just under 2 minutes, which is kind of a trend on “Be The Cowboy”, although the length of the tracks doesn’t bother me since, in my opinion, they manage to deliver their message and have the intended impact. For example, “A Horse Named Cold Air” and “Come into the Water” I think would’ve suffered if they had gone on any longer, however now they provide us with the dreary and gloomy feel without getting stale and boring.
My favorite line on the whole album is delivered on “Remember My Name”. “Just how many stars will I need to hang around me/To finally call it heaven?” is such a brilliant line that is really intelligent and thought provoking. The track in general talks about the hardships of being a performer and searching, longing for love. I was kind of baffled by the song “Me and My Husband” since it’s basically the only purely happy and positive one on the album and is almost a departure from the record’s theme as a whole, however it helps create a cohesive experience and almost pushes the theme in general and makes it even more interesting. “Pink in the Night” builds up and grows until it becomes so close, personal, just bashing us with regret until we actually feel the same emotion as the artist.
The three closing tracks are quite unique. I’m in love with “Washing Machine Heart” and its lively, bubbly sound that’s completely contrasted by the depressing lyrics and vocal delivery. Then “Blue Light” comes in with a bang and a completely rebellious song structure, starting at the high-point and then just drifting and blurring out from there. The closing track and the third single is absolutely magical. “Two Slow Dancers” is such a brilliant piano ballad and the rightfully the longest song on the album. It grips your heart, takes it out, burns it, stomps on it and then hugs and gently caresses it all at the same time.
All in all, “Be The Cowboy” is an amazing album. I’ve been listening to it on repeat for the past few days and it is for sure one of my favorites of the whole year. While it does have its imperfections, they give the album even more depth and I’m just in love with Mitski’s vocals that just bring everything together so magically.
WOWtato/10
Original post in my blog: http://www.mashedpoptato.com/reviews/mitski-be-the-cowboy-album-review/