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Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer (Sub Pop, 2018)

Almost everything Josh Tillman says or does annoys me, and after being beaten over the head with it so many times I finally gave in and listened to Pure Comedy last year, and it wasn't that bad. There were some good tunes, good lyrics, good ideas on it even though overall it's Not Really My Thing. I can't take Tillman's irony-bathed in honesty-bathed in irony shtick and even the "Funny Lyrics" that most Serious Rock Journalists jack themselves off into a frenzy over (omg he made a Taylor Swift joke!!!) make me want to roll my eyes into the back of my head. But the man can sing, and play guitar, and turn a phrase and write a good song or two so here we are with God's Favorite Customer - I don't know if it's the New FJM Album or just an in-between. Compared to the sprawling Pure Comedy it feels very lite indeed - under 40 minutes and the longest song clocking in at a tidy 5:22. But honestly this did less for me than Pure Comedy. If it's not lite it feels like - a little half-baked, well produced but no grand ideas that couldn't have stayed in the hopper until Tillman came up with a few better songs and made this a bigger statement. My other thing is, when do people listen to Father John Misty albums? What moods do you have to be in to put one of these on? Some kind of sardonic, half-hip, drinking a coffee and browsing the internet kind of mood? Who am I to talk I'll listen to an album of radiator hum. I'm doubling down this year on self-important jerks and grabbing the new Mark Kozelek - I've never heard a note of his music or anything from Sun Kil Moon beyond the name but at least my man Mark has the courage to be insipid and self-absorbed without the crutch of irony like the Good Father. I hope I love/hate it.

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