Mitski: 'Francis Forever' SXSW 2016 | NPR MUSIC FRONT ROW

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We have the benefit of hindsight when it comes to 1950s and '60s pop music. Songs about motorcycle crashes and broken hearts sound quaint now, but the sweet harmonies and four-on-the-floor beats reflected real anxieties of teens and twentysomethings. Mitski Miyawaki — who records under her first name — makes music that looks to that era, both in style and substance. The 25-year-old Brooklyn songwriter channels the "pop" reflection of everyday trauma. This is realness, often riddled with feedback, but more often sung in quiet and determined desperation.

This is why when she played our SXSW showcase, you could be forgiven in thinking that her songs about loss, heartbreak, aimlessness and identity carry a dark weight. Largely culling from 2014's Bury Me At Makeout Creek, Mitski's set was spare in its instrumentation, but cavernous in emotion. "Townie," the particularly doomy "I Don't Smoke" and the feedback-squealing closer "Drunk Walk Home" derailed into fuzz and wild vocal acrobatics, while "First Love" felt like a bedroom confessional.

But Mitski also performed two songs from the forthcoming Puberty 2, a record that opens up her sonic and lyrical palette. "Once More to See You," getting a first taste here, is like something out of a cloudy dream, with a space between guitar notes that's deliberate, yet disorienting. Mitski lets her voice breathe through the pauses like a lounge singer left alone in a velvet room. When she spoke with NPR about "Your Best American Girl," she said, "I am half Japanese, and it came from wanting to just fit into this very American person's life and simply not being able to." In Austin, it's a scorcher, riddled with sludgy distortion and crashing cymbals as if someone set off fireworks just above the stage. -- LARS GOTRICH

CREDITS
Producers: Saidah Blount, Mito Habe-Evans, Otis Hart; Technical Director: Josh Rogosin; Director: Mito Habe-Evans; Videographers: Nickolai Hammar, Katie Hayes Luke, Cameron Robert, A.J. Wilhelm, Lizzie Chen; Editor: Niki Walker; Audio: Timothy Powell/Metro Mobile; Assistant Audio Engineer: Loretta Rae; Production Assistants: Erin Conlon, Nathan Gaar; Editors: Niki Walker, Kara Frame. Photography: Adam Kissick. Special Thanks: SXSW, Stubb's BBQ; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann.

Support for NPR Music comes from Blue Microphone.

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I know for a fact there’s at least 5 teenage girls crying in that crowd

wat

I love how she leaves the tuner on her bass, I love how she plays the bass, I love this song, I love Mitski, pls come back Mitski, but also you deserve a break for filling up all my playlists.

bielc

mistki invented music no i dont take criticism

sodacan_

Everyone's here talking about Adventure Time but I'm here cuz I heard the song at a goth club funnily enough and really loved it.

clown-cult

Ok, I just spent evening confirming that every version of this song makes me cry.

diyfreediver

i’m so glad at is bringing people to the talented queen that is mitski

kai-gmre

Adventure Time actually brought me here. They played a cover in their new episode. I really like this one too!

crazyjenius

Lyrics:I don't know what to do without you
I don't know where to put my hands
I've been trying to lay my head down
But I'm writing this at three AM
I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me
On sunny days I go out walking
I end up on a tree-lined street
I look up at the gaps of sunlight
I miss you more than anything
I don't need the world to see
That I've been the best I can be, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me
And autumn comes when you're not yet done
With the summer passing by, but
I don't think I could stand to be
Where you don't see me

mitskiislife._.

I bought this song to support a great artist. :) Been listening to it non stop. :D

Schmidteren

I'm glad Adventure Time brought me here. Now I've found someone cool to listen to! <3 Also the cover sounded almost just like this save it was a little louder due to the edgy take of Olivia Olson. Both sound amazing! <3 Kudos to the composer of this song!

m.b.