Length 31:25 Bury Me at Makeout Creek
(2014) Puberty 2
(2016) Release date 17 June 2016 Genre Indie rock | Producer Patrick Hyland Artist Mitski Label Dead Oceans | |
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Released June 17, 2016 (2016-06-17) Recorded Acme Studios
(Westchester, New York) Indie rock albums Teens of Denial, Mangy Love, No Burden, Cardinal, Sunlit Youth | ||
Mitski happy official video
Puberty 2 is the fourth studio album by American indie rock musician Mitski, released by Dead Oceans Records on June 17, 2016. The album was solely produced by Patrick Hyland. Puberty 2 was released to widespread critical acclaim, with many critics praising Mitski's emotional delivery and lyrically-complex themes, which include longing, love, depression, alienation, and racial identity.
Contents
Background and recording
In a Q&A with Stereogum regarding Puberty 2, Mitski stated that after the breakout indie success of her third studio album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, she felt out of touch with music, and that she "went back to her roots" in recording her fourth album, Puberty 2. In the same interview, Mitski further explained that this meant she drew inspiration from the compositions of all three of her previous studio albums; Lush, Retired from Sad, New Career In Business, and Bury Me at Makeout Creek. She also stated that in contrast to her previous album, Bury Me at Makeout Creek, Puberty 2's music would not be made with the intent to be performed live at DIY venues in similar renditions, and that instead, she would create new renditions of the songs to perform live.
Puberty 2 was recorded entirely in the now-defunct Acme Studios in Westchester, New York, over a two-week period with sole producer, Patrick Hyland.
Composition
In an interview with Mitski prior the album's release, The New York Times labeled the album's sound as "an impressive collection of D.I.Y. punk and indie rock". According to Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork, Puberty 2's composition is influenced by second-wave emo, "wistful dream pop", "slow-simmering electronics", "brusquely strummed folk-punk", surf guitar, and "plenty of '60s pop hooks". Mapes also noted Mitski's vocal delivery on the album to go through different "modes", including "deadpan disenfranchisement, smooth R&B, dream-pop croon, gasping-for-breath pleas, [and] wall of harmonies (with herself)".
Critical reception
Puberty 2 was released to widespread acclaim from music critics. Critics praised the album's more restrained and nuanced emotional trajectory, as well as its complex lyrical themes, which include longing, love, depression, alienation, and racial identity. NPR critic Laura Snapes commented on the album's subtlety, writing that Puberty 2 "is a strike against the happy/sad poles that govern our lives." Katie Rife of The A.V. Club deemed it "a triumphant new step in her evolution".
Track listing
All tracks written by Mitski Miyawaki.
Songs
1Happy3:40
2Dan the Dancer2:26
3Once More to See You3:01