Father John Misty – Fear Fun (2012)

It took me a while to understand the brilliance of Father John Misty. I remember when this album came out and people started talking about it. I liked the cartoon-like album cover and listened to the album once. I didn't get what was so special about it. Here, I think, it's relevant to say that I rarely listen to the lyrics when I first encounter new bands or artists. Anyway, I knew that Father John Misty had played guitar in Fleet Foxes and I was just comparing him to his former band. I felt that Father John Misty was nowhere near as good as Fleet Foxes when it came to sounds and songs. It was only later on when I realised that Father John Misty's strength is in his lyrics and in his persona and it is absurd comparing him to Fleet Foxes. I've also enjoyed the quite retro sounds of this album a lot more later on when I realised what this was all about.



Father John Misty is by his real name Josh Tillman. He used to perform under the name J. Tillman for a long time. His albums under that name were mostly very intimate and melancholic. He made a conscious choice to change his music and at the same time he decided to change his stage name, because he wanted to distance himself from his old music. Where the J. Tillman albums were intimate and sad, Father John Misty albums are filled with absurd jokes and he appears super confident. He has said himself that there was a strange divide between his songs and his persona before and Father John Misty brings the music closer to who he is as a person. Although, I'm not sure I believe it, because Father John Misty seems such an obvious character. But I can understand he wanted his songs to have lighter touches and more humour.

The album is co-produced by Jonathan Wilson, whom I have been writing about in this blog as well. I really have a huge admiration for his music and especially the production on his solo albums is fantastic. I don't think Father John Misty has quite as good production, but I guess it's mostly because it's not the kind of multi-instrumentalist heroism that Jonathan Wilson's music is. Through Wilson's albums I have also started appreciating Misty's sound a lot more.

The album starts with lazy strumming and echoey vocals that fill the audible space as soon as they kick in in the song Funtimes in Babylon. Right from the first moments of this song you can hear the charisma of Father John Misty. Of course, at first I was slightly annoyed by it, because it didn't seem authentic, but once you see it as a part of the stage act, it becomes necessary element of the music. Nancy from Now On is one of the best songs on the album. I like the mood that reminds me of musicals. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings has slightly harder sounds and there is messiah-like qualities in the vocals. I really like the falsettos towards the end. I'm Writing a Novel has a bit of old time rock n' roll and a bit of Americana country music in its style. This is the one song where Misty lets loose and plays a bit, which is fun, but I feel the character of the album suffers a bit in this song. O I Long to Feel Your Arms Around Me is almost like a hymn and in this song we can finally hear the resemblance to Fleet Foxes. Misty's Nightmares 1 & 2 shows some of the best vocals on the album. There's playfulness and authenticity in this song. Only Song of the Ladiesman describes Misty's stage character quite well. The song itself isn't that interesting. This Is Sally Hatchet brings in clear influences from The Beatles. I think this is probably because of Jonathan Wilson, who's clearly fascinated by 60s psychedelia. Well, You Can Do It Without Me continues with retro sounds, but this time it's looking more into pop end of the soul music in the 70s. Now I'm Learning to Love the War is a ballad that seems to really speak directly to the listener. I believe this was the song that I randomly heard while I was playing my iPod on shuffle and suddenly I realised what a genius Father John Misty really was. Tee Pees 1-12 is a proper country rock song with fiddles and everything. It sounds a bit like The Grateful Dead. The album ends with Everyman Needs a Companion. This song has a really beautiful and soulful tone and it's a great way to end the album.

The music video for Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings is cinematically fantastic. It features a young, quite gothically dressed woman who has a proper meltdown and most of the video just follows her angry behaviour. In the end, Father John Misty finds her bloody and beaten on the road, carries her to his van to cool down and drives off.

I saw Father John Misty live a couple of years ago. It was a festival gig and I didn't see all of it as I had to rush to see Beck on the other stage, but I did feel like I would've enjoyed this gig even more. His voice sounded glorious in the warm summer day. It was around this time when I finally realised that Father John Misty had become one of my favourite new artists. Probably because of his album Pure Comedy that really put into words some feelings that everyone had into the political turmoil that happened a couple of years ago that's still going on. Fear Fun is a fantastic album as well, but I had to see a bit more of Father John Misty first before I realised it.

Listen to the album on Spotify.