Father John Misty entrenches his position as indie rock royalty

Misty isn’t feeling too positive on his third album, Pure Comedy, but his knack for a hook and a melody elevates his despairing ballads

30 Apr 2017

Pure Comedy by Father John Misty Father John Misty
Pure Comedy
Sub Pop

With the 2015 album I Love You, Honeybear, Josh Tillmanmade the sweeping transformation from “that Fleet Foxes drummer guy” into a bona fide indie rock darling. While Tillman had released several solo records before switching to his Father John Misty alias, that breakthrough album brought fresh adulation and pop star collaborations, and made his new moniker a household name, at least in hipsterville. But Tillman isn’t exactly a bellyful of laughs on his third FJM long-player, Pure Comedy. Gone are his fabulous whiskers (feeling “crazy”, he shaved them off the day after Donald Trump’s election win), as is his optimism for the human race and its appetite for fame and entertainment. While the ballads of despair could sound like a right old moan in lesser hands, Tillman’s knack for a hook and a melody and his acerbic lyrical dexterity come together in a heady mix of black humour, thoughtful angst and lounge folk crooning.