Indie Rock artist Mitski Miyawaki takes you down a journey of longing souls and powerful anthems in her newest album released this last August, “Be the Cowboy.” Covering a wider range of rhythms than her last album, “Puberty 2,” Mitski still manages to maintain her unique sound through strong ballads like “Geyser” and “Washing Machine Heart,” to the quieter, nostalgia filled songs like, “Two Slow Dancers,” and “Pink in the Night.” However, the pearl in this star studded oyster of a tracklist lies in one of Mitski’s more pop oriented songs: “Nobody.” Steering away from her usual bass heavy sounds, “Nobody” is a lamenting lyrics in a Bossa nova-esc box. Hard hitting lyrics like:

“And I don’t want your pity, I just want somebody near me/ Guess I’m a coward, I just want to feel alright,” are sung to a tune that makes you want to dance around alone in your bedroom. To top it all off, the chorus of the song is entirely comprised by the word “nobody.” Not only does this choice leave listeners reminiscent of experiences with isolation, but the way Mitski sings it, adds a layer of peaceful aloneness. The word “nobody” is so pronounced on each syllable, almost like a marching band steadily leaving the mouth.

         Overall, “Be the Cowboy” is a brilliant piece of work. Mitski takes expectations she left with previous albums like “Bury Me at Makeout Creek” and “Puberty 2” and blows them out of the water. With a one-time listen, the songs seem a bit short, the range of songs being from one to three minutes. Eventually, they settle themselves to be the perfect length to communicate their message. It is an amazing album containing depths of symbolism and musical references and is definitely worth a listen.