Father John Misty
Pure Comedy

'Pure Comedy' is the album with which Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty breaks every hesitation and decisively emerges as the greatest American songwriter currently in circulation.

This might seem like an excessive claim, but those who have appreciated this artist's previous works and have grasped his nature will understand upon approaching the work in question with the appropriate and necessary curiosity.

Josh Tillman, raised in a fraternity of the evangelical church in the suburbs of Washington DC and reportedly having undergone various religious experiences and conversions over the years, has a long career behind him. His first solo albums began circulating at the beginning of the last millennium: a series of visionary and psychedelic folk albums (eight in total) that began to spread and receive appreciation for his name and artistic qualities as both a songwriter and musician throughout the North American continent. Consequently, this brought him to actively participate in the Fleet Foxes project from 2008, with whom he released 'Helplessness Blues' in 2011 before leaving the group and relaunching his solo career from scratch with the new 'moniker' Father John Misty.

'Fear Fun' (Sub Pop Records/Bella Union) released in 2012 was clearly one of the most significant albums of that year: In this work, Tillman revisited the same psychedelic folk attitude of his earlier solo works and that of the Fleet Foxes, abandoning at the same time the more lo-fi and essential characterization, yet visionary and imaginative sound in favor of more refined production and varied, yet catchy compositions without abandoning the messianic and spiritual character typical of the content of his songs, which eventually became a characteristic of his very persona.

The production and distribution under major labels like Sub Pop Records and Bella Union have deservedly introduced the artist to the worldwide audience: a singer-songwriter who, in a context where bands like Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons (each in their own way) were relaunching American folk music, demonstrated not only having superior songwriting skills compared to the mentioned names but also a much more powerful stage presence.

A winning figure in the media landscape, which three years later returned to the public with a new album, 'I Love You, Honeybear', that in comparison to 'Fear Fun' is, in my opinion, decidedly inferior and less inspired artistically and what I consider a genuine mockery.

The album's sounds are artificial, bordering on baroque, and mixed with what is today called folktronica in a triumph of indie aesthetics that, at this point, combined with all aspects related to his persona and appearance, could only hit the mark. The album was practically hailed as the best album of the year by numerous print and online publications. There are abundant references to John Lennon and, in general, to the pop culture of the sixties, thoughts flying to Andy Warhol's pop-art: J. Tillman indeed seems like an artist from those years, having survived either highly successful cosmetic surgery or a cryogenic preservation process, and the same goes for his music, which here is overwhelmingly corrupted by recurring indie music inflations of the last fifteen to twenty years. But Tillman knows this all too well and doesn’t care. Because it works.

What remained for him to do at this point was simply to consecrate himself, immortalize his figure and his music, crucify himself as the greatest of messiahs by creating an album that will inevitably be discussed and could be considered the greatest American songwriter album of recent years and in this sense, the authentic reincarnation of the spirit of John Lennon first, but also of Paul McCartney, Elton John, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, and Fleetwood Mac.

'Pure Comedy' is a concept album that narrates the story of a human species with a malformed brain. This particular species' only hope for survival is to rely entirely on other equally limited species and in the creation of various forms of social structures variably named 'love', 'culture', 'family'. The results of these unions materialize in increasingly varied and kaleidoscopic outcomes: both imaginary and ironic visions, which somehow become the response of these individuals to their vulnerability.

A vision somewhat idealistic and which betrays Josh Tillman's own view of the world, who evidently truly believes himself to be a kind of prophet, he - unique among all - absorbed in the role of a spiritual and intellectual pop star, as pop stars could truly be understood in the sixties when talking about music and pop culture could also mean discussing society, war, and religion.

'Pure Comedy' in its excesses, I think of songs like 'Leaving LA' with a duration of thirteen minutes or 'So I'm Growing Old and Magic Mountain' (nine), is from the first track, the title-track, a construction more conceptual than musical that would culminate in a sort of personality cult (in Josh Tillman’s case: his own) as is intended to happen when one encounters a true great personality of the entertainment world.

Recorded in March 2016 in the heart of the show-business world, at the United Recording Studios in Los Angeles, the album was preceded by four singles and a twenty-five-minute micro-film co-directed by Josh Tillman himself with director Grant Hames, which clearly represents part of the album's recording process.

The production is usually handled by Jonathan Wilson (Trevor Spencer joined the work during the mixing phase), a musician who is likewise a counterpart to Josh Tillman concerning devotion to the psychedelic folk sounds of the sixties and seventies; the mastering was done by Bob Ludwig at the Gateway Mastering Studios.

The album exceeds an hour in length and includes thirteen tracks, all linked by the same concept, in which Josh Tillman showcases all his compositional abilities and his vocal performance skills, which are indeed high in quality both technically and expressively; the tracks are a musical and orchestral reconstruction of an American dramatic story in perfect Hollywood style where one can catch jazz nuances and moments of vintage piano-rock here and there.

It’s a rock and roll music album intended in the same way John Lennon could understand his less experimental solo productions, practically those less influenced by Yoko: intelligent, even intellectual, and likewise inspired by a superior spiritual vision that aligns with a certain idealistic goodwill, configuring itself as an authentic message to the Western world.

But the title is not random.

As much as Tillman wanted to tell a dramatic story, like that of the concept or the plot of a romantic film, he, without hiding (or maybe not) much, deliberately titled his album 'Pure Comedy'. As if all the great things in humanity he wanted to narrate within this album ultimately didn’t matter, and his seriousness, dedication, and excessive sentimentality were yet another mockery, with him endowed with some kind of superior sarcasm we evidently cannot and must not understand, because otherwise the comedy ends and everything loses meaning.