Lets talk about Mitski (And why you should listen to her)

(Song now playing: Carry Me Out, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, 2014)

Abusive relationships, racial identity, addictions, depression and sexuality are some of the topics that Japanese-American singer Mitski talks about. 

But who is this artist, an icon of indie music and the so-called 'sad girls'? (By the way, we'll see why her music is more than just music a depressed teenager would listen to.) 

Mitsuki Miyawaki, stage name Mitski, is a Japanese-American singer born in 1990. Known for songs and hits such as Washing Machine Heart, My Love Mine all Mine and Nobody . Born to an American father and a Japanese mother, she lived in more than three countries during her early life. She studied at Purchase College in New York.

Her music, as mentioned before, addresses issues such as depression, exploration of social and personal identity, abusive relationships, addictions and other similar topics. 

She turns themes like adulthood and aging into ballads of acceptance and resilience like in the song Two Slow Dancers . She turns themes like racial identity and societal expectations into full-blown emotional explorations like in her song Your Best American Girl.

But to see this better, let's look at his work from the beginning and explore the many musical genres that this indie rockstar explores throughout his discography!!

Lush - 2012

This was her first work, published in early 2012, most of these songs were written at the Purchase Conservatory of Music in New York. This album is mostly piano-driven, orchestral ballads, in a very prominent chamber music style. It also occasionally uses indie rock, a cappella, and jazz.

This album explores themes of abusive and toxic relationships, explorations of sexuality, explorations of self-identity, among other topics. 

'I am beautiful, I know, because it is the season . But what should I do with this beauty?? Biology, I am an organism. I am chemistry, that's all, that's all." - Liquid Smooth 

Best songs: Liquid Smooth, Abbey, Pearl Diver, Eric

Retired from sad New Career in Business - 2013

This was his graduation work . It was produced at the music conservatory and was a visual album with several music videos (very good ones, by the way, which tell a story if you connect them together) lots of piano ballads, orchestral pop and some folk

This album explores themes of over, heartbreak, emotional instability, explorations of personal relationships and their different aspects, relationships with family, etc.

'I tried my hardest, but i never learn , god's very simple and love shouldn't burn' - Square

Best songs : Goodbye My Danish Sweetheart, Square ,Shame , I want You

Bury Me at Makeout Creek - 2014

This was their first album released on a record label, thanks to Double Double Whammy . An album that would mark a new era for Mitski, reaching indie rock and leaving aside the piano and orchestral

This album explores themes of toxic relationships, societal expectations, explorations of depression, etc.

'I always wanted to die clean and pretty, but I've too busy on working days, so i am relieved that the turbilence wasnt forecasted, i couldnt have changed anyway' - Last Words of a shooting star 

Best songs : First Love / Late Spring, I don't Smoke, I will, Carry Me Out, Last Words of a shooting star 

Puberty 2 - 2016

By this point, Mitski had already gained popularity, signing with Dead Oceans Label. She remained in the indie rock genre 

This album explores toxic and abusive relationships, explores racial and social identity, and addresses societal expectations and self-image. Many themes unique to puberty 

'And I am a forest fire, I am a forest fire, and I am the fire and I am the forest and I am a witness watching it' - A Burning hill

Best Songs : Happy, Your Best American Girl, I Bet on Losing dogs, Thursday Girl, Crack Baby 

Be The Cowboy - 2018

On this album, Mitski sought to return to and draw inspiration from 1980s synth pop, combined with her usual indie rock. This is her most successful album since the huge success of Puberty 2.

This album is more diverse, exploring many slightly more adult themes, but as Mitski described it, 'It explores being someone to others when you don't feel like someone to yourself.'

'I thought I had traveled a long way, but i have circled the same old sin' - A Horse Named Cold Air 

Best songs: A Pearl, Old Friend, Nobody, Two Slow Dancers, Me and My Husband 

Laurel Hell - 2022

Mitski took a break after Be The Cowboy. She said her mental and physical health was compromised by the enormous pressure of her artistic and media life. If so, he would return with Laurel Hell in 2022. Many of these songs are eighties rock, synth pop, etc.

This album explores themes such as the social pressure that artists and musicians have, exploration of toxic relationships, exploration of vulnerability, criticism of capitalism, etc.

'I always thought the choice was mine, and it was right but I just chose wrong' - Working For The Knife 

Best songs : Stay Soft, Working For The Knife, The Only Heartbreaker, Theres Nothing left for you, Thats Our Lamp 

The land is inhospitable and so are we - 2023

This album is possibly one of Mitski's most distinct, being primarily country and folk.

This album explores themes such as spiritual desires, addictions, social criticism, dependent relationships, anxiety and depression problems, etc. 

'I want someone to take this soul, i cant bear to keep it, I would give it just to give , and all i would take the consequences ' - The Deal

Best songs : I don't like my mind, Bug like an angel, The Deal, Star , I'm your man and the famous My love mine all mine 

In conclusion, Mitski is an emotional artist, with diverse themes, with songs of resilience and acceptance, which vulnerably explore many themes. With a wide variety of genres, she is an artist from which anyone can enjoy at least one song.