When I kept seeing this album pop up on critics’ best of lists then I knew I had to check it out. Puberty 2 is Mitski Miyawaki’s fourth studio album following up on the heels of her last one released in 2014, Bury Me a Makeout Creek. At the tender age of twenty-five she already has put out a lot of material. Lyrically the album flows back and forth between wry and honest. She does sing about the usual subjects of love and being broken-hearted, but somehow Mitski makes it seem less trite or worn over than others before her. Heavy on the melancholy and realism. With a kind of trance inducing lilt to it. The maturity of it all belies her young age. Also, she is someone who does not give two anythings about doing what is expected or what will sell. As a result this is totally indie rock. Meaning it is not something that is aching to be played on radio. She has a mind of her own and will have one track feature saxophones while another will borrow heavily from punk rock. The highlight of the album comes in the form of the track “Your Best American Girl” which comes out of her experience as a Japanese-American. An examination of being from a mixed heritage and the cultural gap that springs up between her and other Americans.
Mitski – Puberty 2
