In case you fell asleep too early or were out too late or were watching another late night talk show host, we’re letting you know that Josh Tillman performed as Father John Misty on Letterman last night. These would be great news even if he just sang “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” from 2012’s Fear Fun, but he delighted fans by sharing “Bored in the USA” along with the announcement of a new album, I Love You, Honeybear, which is coming out February 10 via Sub Pop.
As with many of Father John Misty’s performances, he took to the stage in the way that a close friend would sit in the living room after a late night and start rambling all of his thoughts on the state of his life and society. And that is basically what “Bored in the USA” is: a trail of ideas about American living packaged in a witty and comical way that is so quintessentially FJM. The somber tone is brought to life by his piano and the backing string, quartet, but what really makes us excited about this song is the way that it hits so true to common experiences.
I Love You, Honeybear is described to be a concept album originating from a hallucinogenic experience Tillman had with his wife in Joshua Tree. With an interesting start that resulted in the album’s title track, the rest of the record spirals into the depths of self-loathing narcissism, sex, violence, and other charming things that take form in Tillman’s lyrics. Backed by a soulful sound that is meant to sound solo-era John Lennon, Scott Walker, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, and Dory Previn and inspired by Woody Allen, Kurt Vonnegut, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Muhammad Ali, we’re curious to hear how I Love You, Honeybear takes full form.
As Tillman describes, “My ambition, aside from making an indulgent, soulful, and epic sound worthy of the subject matter, was to address the sensuality of fear, the terrifying force of love, the unutterable pleasures of true intimacy, and the destruction of emotional and intellectual prisons in my own voice. Blammo.”
In typical Misty fashion, several versions of the record will be available, including a deluxe double-LP version with alternate album art on tricolor vinyl and in something called “Dioramic, Musical Funtime” gatefold jacket. CD and LP preorders will also nab limited-edition cassettes with eight demo recordings. Oh, yeah, Misty’s back.
You can grab I Love You, Honeybear on February 10 via Sub Pop.
