Be The Cowboy is the fifth album by New York via Japan singer-songwriter Mitski. In a similar and more effective way than Bat for Lashes’ The Bride, Mitski’s latest album, also a concept record about love and loss, digs deeper on the subject by presenting not one but several representations of these feelings – blue, really blue, grateful, desperate, etc. The result is a striking collection of elegantly crafted tracks with bare instrumentation (some slow and some fast in tempo), poignant lyrics and a high but agile voice that is not afraid to be vulnerable. A true mature artwork and one of the best of 2018.

Something else from the press release:
While recording the album with her long-time producer Patrick Hyland - “little by little in multiple studios between tours” - the pair kept returning to “the image of someone alone on a stage, singing solo with a single spotlight trained on them in an otherwise dark room. For most of the tracks, we didn’t layer the vocals with doubles or harmonies, to achieve that campy ‘person singing alone on stage’ atmosphere. We also made the music swell louder than the main vocals and left in vocal errors like when my voice breaks in “Nobody,” right when the band goes quiet, all for a similar effect.” The title of the album “is a kind of joke,” Mitski says. “There was this artist I really loved who used to have such a cowboy swagger. They were so electric live. With a lot of the romantic infatuations I’ve had, when I look back, I wonder, Did I want them or did I want to be them? Did I love them or did I want to absorb whatever power they had? I decided I could just be my own cowboy.”

RIYL: Bath For Lashes, Kate Bush, Angel Olsen, Tori Amos and St. Vincent.

FCC WARNING: 5
Recommended Tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5 [FCC], 6, 9, 12, 14

1. (2:23) Geyser – Slow tempo. Atmospheric piece. Sad melody. Dramatic.
2. (2:21) ***Why Didn't You Stop Me? – Medium-up tempo. Synth-driven electropop gem. Too short!
3. (1:52) **Old Friend 01:52 – Slow/medium tempo. Love declaration #1. Vocal driven with nice synths. Minimal instrumentation.
4. (2:36) **A Pearl– Slow/medium tempo. Slow build up. College radio rock ballad – includes guitar solo. Think Shearwater.
5. (1:50) *Lonesome Love - FCC [Fuck]. Medium tempo. Country pop. More sad piercing statements.
6. (2:15) **Remember My Name – Medium tempo. Great vocals, cool guitar riff and a nice rhythmic build up. It has an early 1990s alternative vibe.
7. (2:17) Me and My Husband – Medium-up tempo rock ballad. Doesn’t have the sadness of the other recordings. Feels very 1970s rock.
8. (1:32) Come into the Water – Slow tempo track. Another piercing sad piece.
9. (3:13) **Nobody – GMedium-up tempo. Kinda funky. Slow build up. Discotheque sounds and rhythms. Reminds me of The Cardigans.
10. (2:16) Pink in the Night – Slow tempo. Really slow build up. Dramatic and emotional.
11. (2:03) A Horse Named Cold Air – Slow tempo. Piano and vocals only. Think Tori Amos.
12. (2:08) *Washing Machine Heart – Medium-up tempo. Electro pop. Nice beat. Vocal driven. Think Bat For Lashes or a dreamier Metric.
13. (1:43) Blue Light – Medium tempo. Energetic start, slowly and gradually becomes whispery. Then fades away.
14. (3:59) *Two Slow Dancers – Slow tempo. Vocal driven. Sad feeling. Synths and drum beat and more synth sounds.