March 1, 2016
For Immediate Release
MITSKI ANNOUNCES PUBERTY 2, NEW ALBUM OUT JUNE 17TH ON DEAD OCEANS
TOURING NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
LISTEN TO DEBUT SINGLE, “YOUR BEST AMERICAN GIRL”
(photo credit: Ebru Yildiz)
Ask Mitski Miyawaki about happiness and she'll warn you: “Happiness fucks you.” It's a lesson that's been present in her work for years, but never so powerfully as on Mitski’s newest album, Puberty 2. “Happiness is up, sadness is down, but one's almost more destructive than the other,” she says. “When you realize you can't have one without the other, it's possible to spend periods of happiness just waiting for that other wave.” On Puberty 2, that tension is palpable: a both beautiful and brutal romantic hinterland, in which a fierce new voice hits a brave new stride.
The follow-up to 2014's Bury Me At Makeout Creek, Puberty 2 picks up where its predecessor left off. “It's kind of a two parter,” explains Mitski, “It's similar in sound, but a direct growth from that record.” Musically, there are subtle evolutions: electronic drum machines pulse throughout beneath Pixies-ish guitars, while saxophone lights up its opening track. “I had a certain confidence this time. I knew what I wanted, knew what I was doing and wasn't afraid to do things that some people may not like.”
In terms of message though, the 25-year-old cuts the same defiant, feminist figure on Puberty 2 that has previously won her acclaim. Born in Japan, Mitski grew up surrounded by her father's Smithsonian folk recordings and mother's 1970s Japanese pop CDs in a family that moved frequently: she spent stints in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, China and Turkey among other countriesbefore coming to New York to study composition at SUNY Purchase. She reflects now on feeling “half Japanese, half American but not fully either” – a feeling she confronts on clever debut single, “Your Best American Girl” – a super-sized punk-rock number where she “hammed up the tropes” to deconstruct and poke fun at that genre's surplus of white males. “I wanted to use those white-American-guy stereotypes as a Japanese girl who can't fit in, who can never be an American girl,” she explains.
Sadness is awful and happiness is exhausting in the world of Mitski. The effect of Puberty 2, however, is a stark opposite: invigorating, inspiring and beautiful.
Puberty 2 is out June 17th on Dead Oceans, and available for pre-order now. All iTunes pre-orders come with an instant grat download of “Your Best American Girl.” Mitski and band will play SXSW and tour all over in the months to come. The live band will be a three-piece: Mitski (bass/vocals), Callan Dwan (guitar) and Casey Weissbuch (drums). Dates are below.
Listen to Mitski’s “Your Best American Girl” –
Puberty 2 Tracklisting:
1. Happy
2. Dan the Dancer
3. Once More To See You
4. Fireworks
5. Your Best American Girl
6. I Bet on Losing Dogs
7. My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars
8. Thursday Girl
9. A Loving Feeling
10. Crack Baby
11. A Burning Hill
Mitski Tour Dates:
Sat. March 12 – McAllen, TX @ Galax Z Fair V at Yerberia
Wed. March 16 – Austin, TX @ Hype Hotel – YVYNYL x S&S x Hype Machine -- 3pm
Thu. March 17 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda – Secretly Group & Friends– 10pm
Fri. March 18 – Austin, TX @ PEN – Portals SXSW 2016 – 6:30pm -- solo show
Fri. March 18 – Austin, TX @ Hole in the Wall – Stereogumx Exploding In Sound's Austin Invasion 2
– 9:30pm
Sat. March 19 – Austin, TX @ Studium – She Shreds x Punctum Records Presents – 5:30pm
*** more SXSW performances to be announced ***
Sun. April 17 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique – solo show
Tues. April 19 – London, UK @ Birthdays – solo show
Thu. April 21 – Paris, FR @ La Mécanique Ondulatoire w/ Twin Peaks) – solo show
Sat. April 23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Basement – solo show
Mon. June 20 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed. June 22 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Thu. June 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Fri. June 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Sat. June 25 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
Sun. June 26 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
Tue. June 28 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade: Purgatory
Wed. June 29 – Birmingham, AL @ The Syndicate Lounge
Fri. July 1 – Houston, TX @ Walter’s Downtown
Sat. July 2 – Austin, TX @ The Sidewinder
Sun. July 3 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
Tue. July 5 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
Wed. July 6 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Constellation Room
Thu. July 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Fri. July 8 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
Sat. July 9 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
Mon. July 11 – Portland, OR @ Analog Theater
Tue. July 12 – Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt
Wed. July 13 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Fri. July 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
Sat. July 16 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Tue. July 19 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed. July 20 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Fri. July 22 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Sat. July 23 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Pre-order Puberty 2:
via Dead Oceans:
via iTunes:
via Amazon:
Support your local independent record store:
Download hi-res jpegs of Mitski -
(Puberty 2 album art)
Mitski online:
mitski.com/
facebook.com/MitskiLeaks/
twitter.com/mitskileaks
deadoceans.com/press/bleached/
saltymgmt.com/
pitchperfectpr.com/mitski/
For more information, contact:
Jessica Linker | Pitch Perfect PR – , 773-271-6844