Mitski Miyawaki has released a music video for "Geyser," the first single off her upcoming album Be the Cowboy, out August 17 on Dead Oceans. Watch and listen on YouTube above.
The video opens ominously with a bright-red frame and an octaved organ note, before a synthesizer floats in as that red dissolves and Miyawaki appears on a grey beach. She sings sweetly, but does so backed by a static-pierced, somewhat eerie instrumental. Quickly, the songs turns to the warmth of a major key as Miyawaki sings, "You're my number one, You're the one I want."
Having studied composition at SUNY Purchase, Miyawaki understands how to build a dynamic song, and "Geyser" presents another perfect example of her abilities as it explodes from the first half's slow burn into a wall of distorted guitars, pummeling drums, and staccato strings. Amid that eruption, her sweet opening lines disintegrate into sentiments of an almost obsessive devotion.
However, the track is not one of simple love and loss. The "you" of it all is not any real or hypothetical person, but rather the less tangible "music career," as Miyawaki shared in an interview with NPR. She explained that, as a musician, one has to give up so much — relationships, consistency, physical or mental health — she wonders if the career is "even good for me." She continues, "But I gladly give it up, because I love it so much, and I can't imagine doing anything else."
Ultimately, that is what this song is about — pursuing something you know may not be "good" for you because you feel, whether out of love, obsession, or necessity, that you want to give yourself fully to that thing. With "Geyser," that endeavor has once again paid off for Miyawaki.
You can find Be the Cowboy on Amazon.
For tour and other information, check out Mitski's Zumic artist page.
