Mitski | photo courtesy of the artist
Mitski shares Puberty 2 opener “Happy”
Mitski continues to unpack complicated emotions in “Happy,” the second single off of her forthcoming Puberty 2 LP. Where lead track “Your Best American Girl” followed the Brooklyn songwriter as she went from trying to be someone she’s not to becoming mostly comfortable with who she really is, “Happy” explores the intoxicating effects of fleeting happiness.
Surrounded by deep horns, Mitski likens the titular emotion to a pleasant tea party with cookies, while the aftermath of “empty cups of tea” and the need to clean is a metaphor for the mess that is uncovered when the happiness is gone.
From Mitski:
“Happiness f**ks you. Once it’s in your hands you try to hold onto it, but the nature of happiness is that it passes through and eventually leaves, and something else – sadness, anger, a low after the high – has to follow. This song is about this exhaustive and exhausting cycle, and how sometimes one would rather not have any of it at all than be constantly thrown about by the waves of these fleeting states.”
Mitski plays Boot & Saddle on June 23rd with Japanese Breakfast and Jay Som, followed by an all-ages show at PhilaMOCA on June 24th; tickets and information for both shows can be found here. Listen to “Happy” below.