Father John Misty – Pure Comedy (2017)

There are some artists you just feel you ought to like, and Father John Misty is one of these. I'd liked what I'd heard on the radio, and had been delighted when he was the special guest, when daughter took me to a recording of Stephen Colbert's Late Show, while we were in New York a couple of years ago.

I bought three of his albums a couple of years ago in an HMV sale, based on the previous exposure, and was lukewarm, while seeing the depth, about this album's predecessor, I Love You, Honeybear.

And I'm finding this one similarly frustrating, and not at all to my tastes. The ballads are full blooded, over-orchestrated epics, and feel like Elton John angst-pomp at times. I appreciate the lyrical content is deeply personal, but unless the tunes inspire, it's hard to care about them. It's not until the sixth song, Leaving LA, that I'm thinking 'yes, I like this'. It's minimal, it puts the song foremost and it works well. I'm not sure it works for thirteen minutes, with the same two line tune repeated forty times. A Bigger Paper Bag is a little more interesting than the first half of the album, but by the following track, I've grown tired of his whining, and the country steel guitar on Smoochie makes my heart sink. And I'm afraid that there's nothing in the final songs to lift my spirits, my only wish being for the album to finish.

This really isn't to my tastes. I don't want to hear it again. Decide for yourself.

Link to full album

2* - This feels too intense, too over produced, and too whiny. Not for me.