Father John Misty, "I Love You, Honeybear"
Mitch shows true affection to a folkie prophet
Mitch’s Pitch:
When Joshua Tillman quit his gig as drummer of the Fleet Foxes and introduced his misanthropic alter ego (alter id?) Father John Misty, he espoused a worldview where the only thing worse than modern society was himself. Back in the before times, FJM came across as a hopeless cynic, a vulgar doomsayer for our disconnected digital lives.
Five years hence, after our culture and our very existence has been torn asunder by the Trumpian hellscape that we call life in 2020, Misty’s worldview now feels oddly prophetic.
Despair not. While life might be suffering, FJM offered a way out in his 2015 sophomore album, I Love You, Honeybear, an eclectic, funny, offensive, romantic, and ultimately life-affirming song cycle about love and marriage.
His message is simple: I’m terrible, you’re terrible, people are terrible, the world is terrible and the only answer is to find someone to love completely. To find someone with whom you can drop all masks, all pretensions, and all ego.
FJM is such an evocative writer that it’s easy to focus on the words and overlook his compositional genius, but FJM and producer Jonathan Wilson have created a musical pastiche where the feelings evoked by each song’s style runs in opposition to the themes of the lyrics. His greatest asset is his voice: Father John is a soul singer through and through, with a powerful instrument that belies his naked vulnerabilities.
The album establishes its thesis with the title track, a folky dirge sweetened with strings. From there we jump straight to the honeymoon in “Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)”, a delightful, upbeat song with an irresistible mariachi breakdown. Those horns!
Zoom ahead to “True Affection” and revel in a poppy electronica song that cautions against electronic connections displacing human touch, written back when human connections were still dominant.
Next up is “The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment”, a modern take on “Positively 4th Street”, but this time around the narrator is as critical of himself as he is of his lover. “When You’re Smiling and Astride Me” is a full-on soul workout, a gorgeous tune with an astounding vocal performance, once again full of self-confessions and recriminations.
“Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow” is an old west saloon-style paean to fidelity, where our hero thankfully keeps his gun well holstered. “Strange Encounter” is a Tarantino-esque tale of an accidental overdose that sounds like what I imagine a Peggy Lee song to sound like, if Peggy Lee songs had psychedelic guitar solos.
We go from the ridiculous to the abrasive with “The Ideal Husband”, a song that I should want to skip (it’s a little aggro for me) but it’s driving beat and confessional lyrics make it work.
The piano ballad “Bored in the USA” is about the ennui of living in 21st century America - an era that now feels nostalgic rather than tragic. “Holy Shit” continues our descent into cultural morass, a traditional folkie telling of hard truths.
And just when you're ready to give up on humanity, Misty brings us back to the power of love with the sweet and optimistic meet-cute moment of our romantic tragi-comedy, “I Went to the Store One Day.”
All in all, it’s an astounding achievement and one of the best records of the digital era. What say you, my beloved honeybears?
CJ’s Response:
I have to admit knowing very little about the Fleet Foxes and even less about Father John Misty when I saw Mr. Blum’s pitch this week. However, I didn’t want to be known as the guy who refuses to give new music a chance. So, I cleared my mind of all preconceptions and took I Love You, Honeybear for a spin.
For the first few songs, I felt like there was a good chance I was going to like the album on the whole. The songs are pleasant and Father John’s/Josh’s voice is silky smooth. The titles seem to have been work-shopped with Josh’s improv group, but there is certainly some droll humor in the lyrics. So, we were checking a few boxes here for sure.
But, I kept waiting for something big to happen and it never really did. The album sort of unspooled in slow motion for me. The songs continued to be pleasant and Father John’s voice was as honeyed as the title track, but I started to check out a little bit.
A second and third listen (and part of a fourth) did little to change my opinion. If I had to pick a favorite song, it would probably be “The Ideal Husband.” It is certainly angry and abrasive, but at least it goes somewhere. The driving beat and lower register of Father’s John’s voice in this track reminds me of Son Volt’s “Sinking Down” which I really like. But, one song does not an album make. Unless maybe you’re Lou Bega.
Unfortunately for the good Father, the very next song embodies everything I can’t stand about contemporary music. “Bored In The USA” is that mopey millennial drivel about having virtually everything and enjoying absolutely nothing. Boo Frickin’ Hoo. Even the echoes of Bruce Springsteen and the Sgt. Pepper’s studio audience laugh track are insulting.
Bored in the USA? Unfortunately, so am I, Honeybear.
Pitch Failed (No true affection here.)
Don’s Response:
Like CJ, prior to this assignment, I’d heard of Father John Misty, but had never listened to him. Unlike CJ, the more spins, the more I came around on it.
I Love You, Honeybear unfolds like a classic collection of short stories, each song loosely related but revealing a new set of secrets, sometimes blunt, often ironic, consistently clever.
The title track sets the tone, beginning with “everything is doomed, but I love you” and ending with “everything is fine, don’t give in to despair.” It’s the kind of love song that could only be written by a guy born in 1981, the year Gen X gave way to Millennials.
But while Joshua Tillman’s lyrics demand your attention, Johathan Wilson’s production is what draws you in with sparse arrangements that have an almost cinematic quality, such as during the openings to “Honeybear” and “Strange Encounter.”
At first listen, the record sounds a bit repetitive, yet upon further listenings, it’s full of surprises. A somehow tasteful drum machine propels “True Affection.” The tasteful mini guitar solo between the verses in “When You’re Smiling And Astride Me,” a song that works despite only having two verses and no chorus. And often hilarious autobiographical lyrics that you can’t believe he’d utter out loud, let alone record for posterity.
In the end, it’s clear Father John Misty is an acquired taste. I’m reminded of when I first heard Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. I knew I liked them and knew I needed to live with them a bit to fully appreciate their genius. I’m not there yet with this guy, but I want to hear more.
Pitch Successful (I’m all ears.)
Ken’s Response:
Josh Tillman has something important to say, and he’s not a guy to hold anything back. He seems the kind of guy that I’d meet at a party (collared shirts and catered, not keg and solo cups in the back yard) and my first thought is that he’s a bit crude. But he’s entertaining and witty so I keep listening to him, and even when I walk away to go to the bar for a refill, I inevitably seek him out again and again throughout the night. He draws me in, and not just because everyone else at the party works in financial services and is incessantly talking about the performance of their portfolio to the point that I’m tuning out conversations and wondering if the paint on the wall is semigloss or eggshell. He attracts me because he is filterless and honest.
I don’t love everything on I Love You, Honeybear. “True Affection” is an electronica nightmare that I will never voluntarily listen to again (yes, it’s that bad), and my review of “Holy Shit”, would simply say that it’s a 4-minute collection of words and music. But outside of those two misses, it’s an ambitious autobiographical album, and Tillman allows us into all aspects of his life.
Let’s not forget that at this party we also get the privilege of being reacquainted with producer Jonathan Wilson. Another of the defining singer/songwriter/producers from Laurel Canyon, everything Wilson touches on this album pushes it towards greatness. Ultimately, I’m not sure it gets there, but that seems to be more on Tillman than it is about Wilson’s production.
When I finished listening to I Love You, Honeybear, I felt like I truly know a bit more about Josh Tillman. I like that he cares so deeply, that his emotions are out there on full display. And I like him because he doesn’t care at all what I think of him, and I admire him because he lives his life on his terms.
Pitch Successful (I wish they had pigs in a blanket at this party.)
Mitch’s pitch was successful and Father John Misty’s I Love You, Honeybear has made it to Newbury St.
Thanks for reading! Is Mitch the only one who’s caught under Father John Misty’s love spell? Join the conversation, Smoochie:
I almost picked Jonathan Wilson's "Gentle Spirit" as my album this month but thought that it might be a little too obscure and spacey for you guys, but now I think I could have scored some real points with that pick. Either way, I know that you'll be adding "Chateau Lobby #4" to your bullfighting playlists and it's worth it just for that.