Mitski has returned with her first new single and video since 2018’s spectacular Be The Cowboy, as well as announcing North American and European tours. The new track is called “Working For The Knife” and she has this to say about it:
“It’s about going from being a kid with a dream, to a grown up with a job, and feeling that somewhere along the way you got left behind. It’s being confronted with a world that doesn’t seem to recognize your humanity, and seeing no way out of it.”
“Working For The Knife” doesn’t go down the route of extreme volume our quietness to express Mitski’s mental strain, but instead presents a glacial guitar and synth float through her troubled thoughts. Her words are direct – “I always knew the world moves on / I just didn’t know it would go without me” – while her powerful voice conjures the feeling of old dreams; both the hope they once represented and the loss they now harbour when recalled. “Working For The Knife” doesn’t make any drastic shifts, but there is plenty of drama in the way it moves, with clinking percussion and grinding guitar emphasising the labour of day-to-day life in an unforgiving world, supporting Mitski’s mournful contemplations perfectly, right up to the killer blow: “I start the day lying and end with the truth / That I’m dying for the knife.”
The video for “Working For The Knife” was filmed at The Egg in Albany, directed by Zia Anger and had Ashley Connor as Director of Photography. It’s a pretty dramatic and intense continuation of the song, devolving into Lynchian surrealism – well worth a watch.
Hopefully this means there will be news of a new album coming soon from Mitski. For now we can certainly tell you to follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, that she’s got these tour dates booked:
Thu. Feb. 17, 2022 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
Mon. Feb. 21, 2022 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
Thu. Feb. 24, 2022 – Houston, TX @ The Lawn at White Oak Music Hall
Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at Moody Theater
Mon. Feb. 28, 2022 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Thu. Mar. 3, 2022 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Exposition Hall
Fri. Mar. 4, 2022 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Mon. Mar. 7, 2022 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Wed. Mar. 9, 2022 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
Sat. Mar. 12, 2022 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
Mon. Mar. 14, 2022 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre
Tue. Mar. 15, 2022 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
Thu. Mar. 17, 2022 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Fri. Mar. 18, 2022 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Sat. Mar. 19, 2022 – Montreal, QC @ St-Jean-Baptiste Church
Mon. Mar. 21, 2022 – Boston, MA @ TBD
Thu. Mar. 24, 2022 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Fri. Mar. 25, 2022 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
Sat. Mar. 26, 2022 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Tue. Mar. 29, 2022 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Wed. Mar. 30, 2022 – Louisville, KY @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
Thu. Mar. 31, 2022 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Thu. April 21, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory
Fri. April 22, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ University Stylus
Sat. April 23, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union
Mon. April 25, 2022 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Tue. April 26, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz
Thu. April 28, 2022 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
Sat. April 30, 2022 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Mon. May 2, 2022 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Tue. May 3, 2022 – Paris, FR @ Le Cabaret Sauvage
Wed. May 4, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Fri. May 6, 2022 – Zurich, CH @ Les Docks
Sat. May 7, 2022 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
Mon. May 9, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Metropol
Tue. May 10, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
Wed. May 11, 2022 – Stockholm, SE @ Nalen
Thu. May 12, 2022 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
Sat. May 14, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Fabrik
Sun. May 15, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Stollwerck
Tue. May 17, 2022 – Vienna, AU @ WUK
Wed. May 18, 2022 – Prague, CZ @ Rock Cafe
Thu. May 19, 2022 – Munich, DE @ Strom
