Two Drunk Guys Review: Father John Misty | I Love You, Honey Bear
C: I’m going to be honest, from what I’d heard from this album before it was released I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like it and initially I didn’t. However, by the time I reached the last track I was into it and I’m not sure why… it’s pretty mellow which normally doesn’t do it for me. J. Tillman’s lyrics are a little crazy and they sidle up into your brain in such a way that you don’t quite realize what he’s saying at first. Also I’m starting to realize that, initially, I pretty much just hate anything that’s new to me… how the fuck did that happen.
B: I initially did not care for this album either when it first came out a month or two ago. Well, since then I’ve had some time to listen to it and…. I’m still not really into it. To be honest I haven’t listened to it in its entirety more than a handful of times, but that’s the album’s fault for not capturing my attention. Nothing is ever my fault. This is why I have no friends. My loneliness aside, an artist’s second album is pretty damn important. I know Tillman has recorded other stuff not using the Father John Misty moniker but this is album numero dos for deciding whether he is worth investing in for me and probably a few other “fans on the fence”. Anyone can write one good album (actually that’s a lie) but making a great sophomore album gives you a little more value, a little staying power. I’m not ready to throw in the towel but I can’t wait forever for this album to grip me. I’ve got other albums to hate hate hate. Shake it off.
C: Ya I’d have to agree, it did grow on me but I’m not really sure it’s an album I see myself listening to very often. That was sort of my feeling about his first record as well. There were a couple of a songs that I really liked but overall it’s not a album that I listen to much, so maybe I’m just not that into his music. His lyrics are great and the instrumentation this time around is even more impressive than it was on Fear Fun… but it’s just a little too mellow for me. I love his more upbeat stuff and I wish he did more of it, but that’s just me.
B: I’m with you on leaning towards the upbeat stuff. Even “Chateau Lobby #4″ which is a little too poppy for an old prick like me is still catchy and full of weird lyrics like “I wanna take you in the kitchen, Lift up your wedding dress that someone was probably murdered in”. True goddamn romance right there. But this song is still a standout track for me not just for words but because it features a Mariachi Band, a need for any true masterpiece. “Ideal Husband” is probably the least mellow track on the album and it’s definitely one of the strongest from I Love you, Honeybear. Wow, just writing that again. What an absurd fucking title. Anyway, another song that I really like is “Strange Encounter”. It’s a little slow and spooky but it has solos from all sorts of instruments i haven’t sorted out yet, and a little more emotion behind Tillman’s voice. The rest sort of sounds like someone spent too much time listening to Pet Sounds.
C: Ha ha ha ha, ya I had to hold back from starting out this review with how ridiculous the title is, although I put out a record called The Walrus Rabbi (shameless plug) so I probably shouldn’t talk. “Ideal Husband” is a pretty fucking driving track and if there were 2 or 3 more rockers on this album I’d probably love it, instead of feeling lukewarm about the whole thing. However, I have been really into “The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt.” His lyric about hating “the soulful affectation white girls put on” is pure gold… and lets be honest it’s about time someone finally had the balls to say it.
B: While I refuse to hate on any female (even deserving white ones) because I am terrified of what it would be like to have a vagina, I agree that the lyrics on this album are a selling point. It’s just the mellow track/driving track imbalance and some of the production that keeps me away. I mentioned Pet Sounds already (although he forgot the killer harmonies, WTF man?) but the thing that pisses me off more is “Bored in the U.S.A.” with the laugh track like this is Sgt. Peppers. You’re not making a legendary album here Tillman, you’re just being weird for the sake of being weird. Also you look like Rick Grimes from the Walking Dead. Take that Father John!
C: Touche
Latest posts by Beef Wellington (see all)
- Red Means Run, return with Love of Blindness. - June 27, 2016
- Philly Concert Picks: May 20th – 22nd - May 17, 2016
- Philly Concert Picks: March 23rd – 26th - March 22, 2016
[…] I would use the word indie in describing this album, is liking it the indie-folk of artists like Father John Misty. Actually after listening to their version of John Cale’s “You Know Me More Than I Know” […]
[…] Father John Misty | I Love You, Honeybear – This guy really blew up this year, huh? This is basically Hipster Album of the Year finding itself near the top of a lot of peoples’ lists as well as in a recent episode of Aziz Ansari’s Master of None. Which is incredible and you should certainly check out. But, I Love You, Honeybear? It’s not a bad album and it certainly has its bright spots like “Chateau Lobby #4” and “The Ideal Husband”. Still, I can’t help but give this the dreaded overrated stamp of disapproval. Okay, I could help it but something about the way that Tillman sings just pisses me off. […]