The Atlantic

The Dangerous Desires in Mitski’s Songs

The indie singer’s new album, <em>Be the Cowboy</em>, smartly considers what happens when emotions take over.
Source: Bao Ngo

“It’s not like it just pours out,” Mitski Miyawaki says of her musicin the press materials for her new album, . “It’s not like I’m a vessel.” This is not, really, what artists are supposed to say. They’re supposed to go on about the mysteriousness of creation, about surrendering to the muse, and about works that spring fully formed from their flesh like xenomorphs from space travelers. But as the 27-year-old Mitski has become one of. Rather, she creates with her intellect on. “For this new record,” she says, “I experimented in narrative and fiction.”

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