Getting All Misty Over Fear Fun

J. Tillman as Father John Misty

Far and away the biggest surprise for me, and my favorite album of the year so far, is J. Tillman's new project as Father John Misty. I wasn't a big fan of either Tillman or Fleet Foxes, but boy do I like this Father John Misty thing.


And here I was thinking 2012 was going to be a competent, unexciting year in music.

Here's a typical review:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/father-john-misty-fear-fun,73222/

“But the myths that most fascinate Tillman derive from his new home, a famed hillside community that immediately conjures all kinds of hippie dreams and Hollywood nightmares. The death-obsessed folk-rocker “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” is a direct homage to Young’s On The Beach, a record that shares Fear Fun’s sense of spiritual confusion and sardonic cynicism about the canyon’s tweaked culture. “I’m Writing A Novel” takes this weariness in a likeably lighthearted direction—this is where the talking dogs show up—that carries over to the whole of Fear Fun. Tillman soaks up the sounds, smells, and free-floating strangeness of his environment, and revels in its humanity.”

You can listen to the whole thing on SoundCloud (and rip it if you're clever, but you should buy it instead) through this site:

http://faronheit.com/2012/05/snapshot-review-father-john-misty-fear-fun-sub-popbella-union/

Seriously good music. Just saying.

Here’s a clip of what promises to be an eccentric and excellent stage show:



Is J. Tillman going to turn out to be a Bowie-like chameleon? Who knows. I just hope Tillman keeps this Father John Misty thing going awhile.