While outwardly acerbic and cynical, the second album by Father John Misty is actually a very sweet and poignant declaration of deep affection
Father John Misty/ I Love You, Honeybear
Father John Misty is a solo musical project conceived by Josh Tillman, a former drummer of American indie-folk outfit Fleet Foxes (yes, that’s the same band behind lilting hits like Helplessness Blues and White Winter Hymnal). While still best known today as a member of the aforementioned band, Tillman has in fact hung his drum sticks up since 2012 to strike out on his own. He has produced records under his own name as well as released a debut album, Fear Fun, under the Father John Misty moniker. Three years later, the bearded troubadour returns with the proper full-length follow-up, titled I Love You, Honeybear.
Co-produced by Jonathan Wilson (Conor Oberst, Bonnie “Prince” Billy), Misty’s sophomore effort finds him knee-deep in vintage Californian folk influences while he expertly juggles well-crafted irony, biting humour and romantic devotion. The self-explanatory, politically-charged lead single, Bored in the USA, leans towards the first two with him unabashedly tackling a series of contemporary issues that have been plaguing his home country, and, by extension, himself as an American.
Father John Misty Band Photo
“How many people rise and say/My brain’s so awfully glad to be here for yet another mindless day?” he muses in the opening verse. The best lines, however, arrive when he continues, “They gave me useless education/And a sub-prime loan on a craftsman home/Keep my prescriptions filled/And now I can’t get off but I can kind of deal.” And as if that wasn’t enough, the canned laughter is unleashed to add that slightly dark comedic effect to the proceedings.
There’s more where that acerbic cynicism comes from. Take the three-and-a-half minute ode to a one-night stand, The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment, where he whinges out loud about one particular woman (“Oh, I just love the kind of woman who can walk over a man/I mean like a god damn marching band … Of the few main things I hate about her, one’s her petty, vogue ideas/Someone’s been told too many times they’re beyond their years/By every half-wit of distinction she keeps around/And now every insufferable convo/Features her patiently explaining the cosmos”).
Musically, the production here is based heavily on the ’70s rock ’n’ roll elements and furbished with lush strings-laden arrangements and pretty harmonies. These come in particularly handy for the more tender, romance-themed offerings such as When You’re Smiling and Astride Me, Chateau Lobby No 4 (in C for Two Virgins), The Ideal Husband, and I Went to the Store One Day which details the encounter between the singer and the woman who later became his wife.
On the surface, I Love You, Honeybear can come across as a slightly conflicted record. Yes, it is rife with irony and comedic, sometimes even offhand, songwriting, but at the same time it is incredibly sweet whenever it chooses to be. Don’t let the disillusioned-ness on Bored in the USA put a damper on things, dig a little further below the surface and you’ll find that at its very heart, the album is actually dedicated to one of the most universal feelings there is — and that is being hopelessly in love. n
THE PLAYLIST
Jelly Rocket/ Luem (Forgotten)
After releasing two English-language singles How Long and Stay, up-and-coming all-female Thai trio Jelly Rocket is finally switching back to singing in their mother tongue. Luem (Forgotten) finds Pun Nonlapun (vocals), Pak Jutapak (keyboard) and Mo Chutikan (guitar) unleashing their inner rock chick, singing about the struggle to get over a lover and how to essentially forget him. Musically, Luem marks a small departure from the trio’s hazy, dream-pop inclinations found on their first two tracks, and while we adore the girls’ cutesy side, this rock ballad goes to show that they’re capable of much more.
Sia/ Salted Wound
Following the Weeknd’s Earned It and Ellie Goulding’s Love Me Like You Do, Australian singer-songwriter Sia has unveiled her contribution to the soundtrack for the S&M blockbuster film Fifty Shades of Grey. Salted Wound is a floaty ballad featuring nothing more than a sparse backdrop of harp and violin. “Don’t break, yeah, you’ll pull through it/You’re safe, yes, you can do it,” Sia gently croons in her spectral voice. “Don’t break, yeah, you’ll pull through it/You’re safe.” The track may not possess that rambunctious drama we heard previously on Chandelier, but it is downright gorgeous.
Frank Ocean/ At Your Best (You Are Love)
If Salted Wound has put you in a certain mood, Frank Ocean’s cover of The Isley Brothers ballad (also covered by the late R&B star Aaliyah on her 1994 debut) guarantees to prolong that mood for a little bit longer. Released to mark what would have been Aaliyah’s 36th birthday, At Your Best (You Are Love) is a stripped down rendition that places Ocean’s vocals at the very forefront of it all. His falsetto is the highlight here — ethereal and never once grating. This is perhaps Frank Ocean at his best yet.
The Twilight Sad/ The Airport
Scottish shoe-gazers The Twilight Sad have dropped The Airport as a B-side to the latest single, I Could Give You All That You Don’t Want, from their critically acclaimed record Nobody Wants to Be Here And Nobody Wants to Leave. As you can probably expect, the track shares the same gloom and doom melodrama that dominates their recent album, and is evocative of some of The Smiths’ best work. “Come away with me/Darling, won’t you play with me,” implores frontman James Graham in a seemingly nonchalant manner over the forlorn guitars.
Toro Y Moi/ Empty Nesters
Operating under the Toro Y Moi moniker, Chaz Bundick returns with a new cut called Empty Nesters, taken from his upcoming fourth studio album, What For? Here, Bundick does away with his signature chillwave influences to embrace the sounds that lean towards funk, disco with a pinch of psychedelia sprinkled on top. “Let’s make another hit for the teens,” he proclaims over the effervescent guitars and upbeat melodies. “Smothered and covered by my high school dreams/Call mum and daddy ’cause the nest is empty, and so are you.” n
