Author: Bella Tucker
In 2019, Mitski announced she would stop touring indefinitely, sending her off the grid for two years now. This month, she returned with a song and a music video titled “Working for the Knife” as well as world tour dates.
Mitski is a Japanese-American indie-rock artist who gained popularity through her ability to make a song cinematic, relatable and catchy all at once. Her career was at its peak when she announced that she was done touring. Stating She stated that the industry was sucking her in and was becoming not about the art as much as it was about the need for fame.
“Working for the Knife” describes how much of a toll it that feeling takes on someone. Describing herself as the knife and saying that no matter how much she does, it will never reach her expectations, she sings, “I always thought the choice was mine” and continues to realize “I was right but I just chose wrong.” Nearing the end of the song, Mitski realizes that she is the one who sets these high standards for herself and it is up to her how far she goes.
The music video gives the song an even deeper meaning. It starts off with her walking towards a performing arts venue wearing a cowboy hat, trench coat, collared shirt and pants. Throughout the video she slowly takes off the pieces until she lies on the stage in just a bra and pants. Leaving her last album, “Be the Cowboy” behind and starting anew, Mitski starts to dance as the song ends, the sound of cheering and clapping heard off-screen. As the noise fades, the intensity of her dance increases until all we can hear is her heavy breathing. There is no sign of an audience, and Mitski gives it her all even though no one is watching.
Sharing such a dark experience with poetic lyrics, an eerie sound and an amazing interpretive dance shown in her music video is the Mitski trademark. “Working for the Knife” met the standards that her fans were expecting. The world tour dates are the shocking factor that put the cherry on top. With the tour coming up soon, a new Mitski album can be expected as well.
