Mitski | Photo by Rachel Del Sordo | racheldelsordophotography.com
Contemplate identity and unrequited love in Mitski’s video for “Your Best American Girl”
Mitski has just released the music video for “Your Best American Girl,” the first single off her upcoming record Puberty 2. The song tackles some complicated questions of identity, as Mitski struggles to relate to her “All-American” love interest due to her own Japanese upbringing.
As she sings in the song’s lo-fi chorus (which is reminiscent of her 2014 hit “Townie”), “Your mother wouldn’t approve of how my mother raised me / But I do, I think I do / And you’re an All-American boy / I guess I couldn’t help trying to be your best American girl.”
The video itself captures this failed relationship dynamic perfectly, as Mitski catches the eye of a young, attractive American dude and starts waving at him happily, only to find out that he already has a love interest, a hip white girl who wears a flower crown that she probably picked up at Coachella. When the new couple starts making out in front of her, Mitski finds a new partner to kiss: her hand.
Check out the possibly NSFW video below (seriously, there’s a lot of sensual making out here). Mitski’s new album Puberty 2 will be released on June 17. You can catch her in Philly on June 23 at Boot & Saddle, or the following night at PhilaMOCA. Tickets and more information can be found via the XPN Concert Calendar.