Puberty 2 exposes new dimensions to Mitski’s voice, revealing its true richness and range. Mitski is an exceptionally keen observer of the human condition, and Puberty 2 marks a triumphant new step in her evolution.
‘Puberty 2’ features all of those teenage troughs, and the confusing, thrilling peaks too – the starry eyes, manic ambition and constant distraction of sex.
Puberty 2 captures the sense of frustration, resignation and self-awareness that can only come from years of grappling with emotional demons: now, she holds her vulnerability with confidence, in anthemic and improbably striking songs, for all to see.
Mitski has long been an integral part of the indie rock world, but with Puberty 2, Miyawaki has proven that she is more vital and more necessary than ever. No other artist is writing music this open and accessible; as a result, Puberty 2 is one of the best records of the year so far.
It’s a high-watermark of post-irony indie, a cracked safe of perspectives previously unheard in lump-throated punk. It plays like a sketchbook, but you’ll grow to hum every Sharpie stroke.
For all its buzzing, sneering self-flagellation, Puberty 2 barrels head-first into contemporary rock’s inner circle. It’s an album both earthy and graceful, performing its own ballet routine in the dirt and the mud.
What Puberty 2 so expertly unearths is the fact that the uncertainty of puberty basically just means you're alive. That exploration alone would make Puberty 2 an interesting album, but Mitski Miyawaki's songwriting prowess makes it into something special.
Featuring crunchy guitars, squeals of feedback and masterful melodicism, comparisons to Pinkerton are inevitable, but there's more nuance and maturity at work here.
It’s essentially misery-laden electric-guitar indie rock, in the style of Cat Power and Waxahatchee – but her nihilist worldview is oddly endearing.
While Puberty 2 might lack the round variance of an album, it thrives as a singles club, populated by songs that find exquisiteness within themselves—saddened bangers, if you will.
Now signed to Dead Oceans for her fourth album Puberty 2, the 25-year-old is as experimental and fearless as ever, whilst also developing a sort of mainstream, more commercial sound.
The songs sway with gravitas and hit home whether you’re wrestling with innate and confounding dependence (‘Crack Baby’) or trying to pilot your own mental health (‘Happy’), Mitski feels dedicated to those who, for once, just want to set their own pace.
Equal amounts tender and wild, Mitski places power in vulnerability. Validating every topsy turvy emotion, Puberty 2 is a soundtrack of self-awareness and self-acceptance at its most real.
‘Puberty 2’ leaves no stone unturned in its attempt to make grim tales seem even worse than you could possibly imagine. It’s a brutally tough shock to the system, one that will leave its trace for years to come.
Mitski’s boldness is hugely impressive, and couple that with the fact the record is so expertly mixed and edited, she has produced one of the year’s more complete LPs.
It continues her infatuation with love, loneliness, betrayal, hunger, and the afflictions from both sadness and happiness.
Growing ever more creative, with music ever more intriguing and beautiful, Puberty 2 represents the latest natural step in a career going from strength to strength.
Despite the all-pervasive blue mood Mitski spreads throughout her songs, there’s plenty of spirited, anthemic moments to latch onto with Puberty 2.
As bawdy and unpredictable as anyone is in their first puberty, Puberty 2 shows Miyawaki indulging her whims with a devil-may-care attitude – the result is an incendiary self-portrait.
Surprised this is the mitski album I DIDNT love as much as the others, but with its heartbreaking lyrics Puberty 2 by mitski still gives an interesting listen!
About as good as I was expecting? Which is, for the record, quite good indeed. I'm relatively familiar with Mitski's work - obviously the hits, which are so prevalent and borderline ubiquitous in this internet age that we all live in, but a few of her deeper cuts too - but this was really my first serious, proper, and intentional listen of any of her LPs, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. But I wasn't blown away either. It's a shame that my favourite tracks here are the popular ones, but, as ... read more
this is my personal favorite mitski album, while there are definitely tracks that miss the mark a bit (dan the dancer), the highs are too high for me to care. contains some of my favorite mitski songs of all time (fireworks, crack baby, a burning hill etc.) the lyrics and instrumentals are raw and emotional; it really speaks to my experience with girlhood
1 | Happy 3:40 | 91 |
2 | Dan the Dancer 2:25 | 85 |
3 | Once More to See You 3:00 | 87 |
4 | Fireworks 2:37 | 90 |
5 | Your Best American Girl 3:32 | 95 |
6 | I Bet On Losing Dogs 2:50 | 93 |
7 | My Body's Made of Crushed Little Stars 1:56 | 81 |
8 | Thursday Girl 3:08 | 85 |
9 | A Loving Feeling 1:32 | 84 |
10 | Crack Baby 4:52 | 90 |
11 | A Burning Hill 1:49 | 88 |
#1 | / | Earbuddy |
#1 | / | LA Music Blog |
#2 | / | Mashable |
#2 | / | Uproxx |
#3 | / | TIME |
#4 | / | Red Bull |
#4 | / | Salon |
#4 | / | The Atlantic |
#4 | / | The Line of Best Fit |
#5 | / | BrooklynVegan |