Listened to Father John Misty‘s new album, I Love You, Honeybear, yet?
KWVA’s DJ Dad from Family Values has the reason why you should take a good, hard listen below:
Josh Tillman wrote a new album about his wife.
That would be the end of this review if he hadn’t done it with impeccable breadth, style and beauty. But, let’s start at the beginning of his solo career.
Father John Misty’s (FJM) debut album, Fear Fun (2012) was a sincere commitment to the sarcastic. The title itself is enough to illustrate this. A scratchy country croon sings songs of self-deprecating apathy, “Oh-h Pour me another drink / and punch me in the face / you can call me Nancy.” An unusual statement made by the guy who also unravels the “Truly staggering amount of all that it takes to make a record.” later in said debut. Is he spending all this time and money just to say that wants to be called “Nancy”? Probably not!
Fear Fun is full of contradictions, in the opening track, “Funtimes in Babylon,” he refers to his journey to what in Akkadian means “the gate of the gods”. In his afterlife scenario, elegant arrangements, angelic “oohs”, and symphonic “ahhs” back up verses explaining his desire to destroy his own body and finally “Ride around the wreckage on a horse knee-deep in mud”. Perhaps being the ringleader in his own hellish landscape is truly what he expects at his inevitable demise. Or, maybe he is priming the listener for an album experience that is indulgent, entertaining, and funny. In the end, he clues the listener in, the song ends in a thrice sung punch line, “Look out Hollywood here I come”. He anticipates his fame with this his first album, rips it apart, and makes a song about it. It’s all a big joke on himself, and somehow he’s getting the last laugh.
Throughout Fear Fun, Mr. Tillman is able to keep the masses at bay with a constant stream of contradictory statements that bemuse and entrance; one never knows what he’s really thinking. This is where his new album comes in. I Love You, Honeybear has an entirely different agenda than his previous record. Father John Misty is back, but this time it’s personal. And with far less emphasis on hallucinogens.
Seriously, ten of the eleven songs on this new record, without any ambiguity, are about his wife, Emma Elizabeth Tillman (“Honeybear”) that he makes explicitly clear, he loves. Thoroughly. But don’t fret, this is still a distinctly Father John Misty album, complete with all the edgy, tasteless, boundless sexual innuendos and dry disdain for the normal. The first three lines of the album are, “Oh, honeybear, honeybear, honeybear / Mascara, blood, ash and cum / On the Rorschach sheets where we make love” And it only goes up from there. This time around, there is a simple preoccupation that doesn’t rely on humor or escapism to confront the harsh reality of modern living, and that is Love. And after forty-five minutes It’s not uncomfortable, overbearing or tired. It’s honest, relatable, and a joy to listen through.
Honeybear is Josh Tillman breaking free, allowing the sound to become an extension of his heart, not just his brain. “When You’re Smiling and Astride Me” is an example of expression of a moment and a feeling, being completely present. The next song, “Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow” shows defense and anger. Real emotion unfiltered. The entire album is a coherent devotion to her and himself, and is loaded with unexpected turns and hidden gems. Of course, FJM might still be a little aimless, but when someone shows this level of commitment, we should listen.