Mitski has announced the follow-up to her 2016 breakout effort, Puberty 2. Entitled Be The Cowboy, the indie rocker’s fifth album overall is due out August 17th via Dead Oceans.
The 14-track collection sees Mitski once again working with her longtime producing partner Patrick Hyland. Together, they crafted a record that presents “a woman in control” while telling the vague story of a woman spiraling out of it. In a press release, Mitski says she “experimented in narrative and fiction” on Be The Cowboy, but stops short of saying she created full on concept characters for the record. Instead, she explains that the songs come from the perspective of “a very controlled icy repressed woman who is starting to unravel. Because women have so little power and showing emotion is seen as weakness, this ‘character’ clings to any amount of control she can get. Still, there is something very primordial in her that is trying to find a way to get out.”
That explosive tension is evident on the LP’s first single, “Geyser”. The powerful track builds in drama like a film score, coming in on haunting drones before unleashing a gush of modulated guitar, invigorating horns, and dancing synths. Check it out via the below video directed by Zia Anger, who also helmed the clip for Mitski’s breakout single “Your Best American Girl”.
Pre-orders for Be The Cowboy are now live. The album art and complete tracklist are below.
Be The Cowboy Artwork:
Be The Cowboy Tracklist:
01. Geyser
02. Why Didn’t You Stop Me
03. Old Friend
04. A Pearl
05. Lonesome Love
06. Remember My Name
07. Me And My Husband
08. Come Into the Water
09. Nobody
10. Pink in the Night
11. A Horse Named Cold Air
12. Washing Machine Heart
13. Blue Light
14. Two Slow Dancers
Mitski also has a US solo tour scheduled for June, followed by a full band trek across Europe in the fall. Find her schedule below.
Mitski 2018 Tour Dates:
06/09 – Bozeman, MT @ Rialto Bozeman
06/12 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Armory ^
06/14 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf ^
06/15 – El Paso, TX @ The Lowbrow Palace ^
06/16 – Marfa, TX @ Crowley Theater ^
06/20 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s ^
06/22 – Gainesville, FL @ High Dive ^
06/23 – Savannah, GA @ El Rocko ^
06/30 – Woodstock, NY @ Colony %
09/19 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Gorilla *
09/20 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s *
09/22 – Dublin, IE @ Tivoli Theatre *
09/24 – Leeds, UK @ Brudnell Social Club *
09/25 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity Arts Centre *
09/26 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire *
09/28 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie *
09/29 – Antwerp, BE @ TRIX
10/01 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9 *
10/02 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord (Tolhuistuin) *
10/04 – Berlin, DE @ Musik & Frieden *
10/05 – Vesterbro, DK @ Vega *
10/06 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich *
^ = Solo w/ Katie von Schleicher
% = Solo w/ Caroline Rose
* = w/ EERA
