Father John Misty is the alter ego of Joshua Tillman, a prolific songwriter and musician: at 33 years old, he has 10 albums under his belt and has also toured as a drummer with the folk bands Fleet Foxes and Saxon Shore. The release of this second album under the Father John Misty moniker was a much anticipated affair in hipster world. In November, there was a performance of Bored in the USA at David Letterman, that must have been a surprise to the American mainstream TV audience. Then came strange promo of the album, consisting of a tinny and horrible-sounding version of the album available via a new fake streaming site called SAP, a well twisted satire that took a swipe at Spotify, Beats Music and the likes in a politically correct way (can’t make enemies with these giants now). And of course, his fans got a great teaser of what was to come, with this beautifully orchestrated love song, Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) released in December : Although this is my favourite song on I Love You, Honeybear, there are no disappointments on this album which is a great evolution from it’s predecessor, Fear Fun (2012). In his old Father John Misty persona, he drank too much (often swigging whisky onstage), got in awkward situations with dominatrix ladies in hotel rooms, and consumed enough mushrooms to choke a horse (so he said). Now this persona has matured, got married and sings mostly about the ups and downs of his love affair with his real-world wife, Emma, in a very sincere way, but with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Oh, and with plenty of swearing along the way. Misty is a wordy songwriter, a lot of his album revolves around the lyrics, but the instrumentation and especially the string arrangements are infallible, with the exception of True Affection, an unsuccessful foray into a more electronic sound. So here we have it, a great album from a great songwriter : this folk-pop journey is well worth it and bang on time for your romantic Valentines night. Lastly if you are a true hipster, you must buy this album in vinyl, with pop-up sleeve art that folds out completed with a musical card version of Love You, Honeybear. Sweet. FATHER JOHN MISTY I Love You, Honeybear (Sub Pop Records, 2015) -Genre : Indie-folk -Sound like: Fleet Foxes, Iron & Wine, The Walkmen Buy it on iTunes Father John Misty’s Facebook page Réagissez à cet article / Comment this article commentaires / comments
