> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.unknowndivide.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Mitski Be the Cowboy: Why the 2018 Album Belongs on Your Shelf - URL: https://www.unknowndivide.com/mitski-be-the-cowboy-vinyl/ - Published: 2024-04-15T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T06:18:37.000Z - Description: Mitski's fifth album traded distorted guitars for piano ballads, upbeat pop and a lone spotlight. Here is what Be the Cowboy is, how it was made and where to buy it on vinyl. - Author: unknowndivide staff - Tags: Music *Unknowndivide may earn a commission from purchases made through links in this post.* Mitski's Be the Cowboy is the album where a cult favorite became a defining songwriter of her generation. It is short, sharp and strangely theatrical, a record of 14 compact songs that still manage to feel enormous. If you have only heard "Nobody" or "Washing Machine Heart" in passing, the full album is worth owning. Here is what it is, how it was made and where to buy a copy on vinyl. ## What it is [Be the Cowboy](https://deadoceans.com/releases/be-the-cowboy/?ref=unknowndivide.com) is the fifth album by [Mitski](https://mitski.com/?ref=unknowndivide.com), released on August 17, 2018 through [Dead Oceans](https://deadoceans.com/?ref=unknowndivide.com). It followed Puberty 2 from 2016, the record that brought her to a much wider audience. Like her earlier work, it was made with her longtime producer Patrick Hyland, recorded little by little in multiple studios between tours. The tracklist runs: 1. Geyser 2. Why Didn't You Stop Me? 3. Old Friend 4. A Pearl 5. Lonesome Love 6. Remember My Name 7. Me and My Husband 8. Come Into the Water 9. Nobody 10. Pink in the Night 11. A Horse Named Cold Air 12. Washing Machine Heart 13. Blue Light 14. Two Slow Dancers ## The idea behind it Mitski told her label that she experimented with narrative and fiction on this record. She had in mind a very controlled, icy, repressed woman who is starting to unravel, a persona that clings to whatever control she can get while something primordial tries to break out. The opener, "Geyser," introduces exactly that: a woman who can no longer hold it in. The album title, she said, is a kind of joke. She described an artist she loved who had a cowboy swagger and was electric live, and wondering whether she wanted them or wanted to be them. Her conclusion: she could just be her own cowboy. The result is a record about loneliness and performance, about the gap between how you appear and how you feel. ## The sound Be the Cowboy moves away from the heavy distorted guitar that had become one of Mitski's trademarks. She was careful, she explained, not to repeat herself or create a signature sound by accident. Instead the music swerves between mournful piano ballads and deceptively upbeat songs, with sudden, cinematic swells. She and Hyland kept returning to the image of someone alone on a stage, singing solo in a single spotlight. For most tracks they did not layer the vocals with doubles or harmonies, and they let the music swell louder than the main vocals. They even left in small vocal errors, like the moment her voice breaks in "Nobody" just as the band goes quiet. That choice is a big part of why the album feels so intimate. You are not listening to a polished studio voice. You are listening to one person, very close, very exposed. "Nobody" is the obvious highlight, a deceptively upbeat song where the narrator admits that no one will save her and she just needs someone to kiss. "Me and My Husband" plays like a scene from a short story, "Washing Machine Heart" is a burst of nervous pop and "Two Slow Dancers" closes the record on a quiet, aching ballad. ## Why it is cool Be the Cowboy proves you do not need long songs to build a big emotional world. The songs make their point and move on, which makes the album easy to replay and impossible to forget. It is also one of those records that sounds different depending on your mood. On a good day it is bright, catchy pop. On a bad one it is a mirror. On vinyl, the short running time makes for two tight sides, and the spare vocal production benefits from a good system. If you are still assembling a setup, our guide to the [best phono preamps for beginners](https://www.unknowndivide.com/best-phono-preamps-for-beginners/) is a useful starting point. ## Who should buy it Buy Be the Cowboy if you like indie rock and pop with sharp, literary songwriting, or if you have heard "Nobody" and want the full picture. It is also a strong pick for anyone building a collection of essential indie records from the last decade. If you already own it, go back to Puberty 2 to hear where the guitars came from. ## Where to buy Be the Cowboy is available on vinyl and compact disc from Dead Oceans and from record stores. **Shop Be the Cowboy** [Be the Cowboy at Dead Oceans](https://deadoceans.com/releases/be-the-cowboy/?ref=unknowndivide.com) [Mitski, Be the Cowboy on vinyl](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KY5NND7?tag=unknowndivi02-20&ref=unknowndivide.com) [Mitski, Be the Cowboy on compact disc](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D3DBCCV?tag=unknowndivi02-20&ref=unknowndivide.com) For more from the same label, see our [Dead Oceans starter guide](https://www.unknowndivide.com/dead-oceans-starter-guide-essential-albums/), Khruangbin's [Con Todo El Mundo](https://www.unknowndivide.com/khruangbin-con-todo-el-mundo-vinyl/) and our [gifts for vinyl collectors](https://www.unknowndivide.com/gifts-for-vinyl-collectors/). For more records worth owning, browse our [vinyl](https://www.unknowndivide.com/vinyl/) picks.