Take one recent Vanity Fair article on the Laurel Canyon music scene of the late ’60s (Joni, CSNY, Mamas & Papas) add an NPR think piece on outrageous musicians plus a dash of the new Kim Gordon memoir. Sprinkle liberally with my longing for new Fleet Foxes material (when, oh when?) and what do you get?
Father John Misty aka Josh Tillman aka my latest obsession.
I may tire of his skinny, hipster swagger – lumberjack beard, ’70s sunglasses – but his voice and his hair are awesome. He was in the Fleet Foxes for a few years while also working on solo material, and his latest album, I Love You, Honeybear is just as earnest, though less inscrutable, as anything from the Seattle band. He writes and sings honestly (and outrageously, per NPR) about sex and love and the power of a good woman; that would be his real-life wife, Emma Elizabeth Tillman. The messages, however candid and explicit as in ‘When You Are Smiling and Astride Me’, are wrapped in such golden melodies and heartfelt singing that you don’t always register him as an agent provocateur. I heard ‘Bored in the USA’ and thought, ‘Oh, a political satire song,’ but as for the other tunes, I didn’t appreciate their underlying themes until I’d read Ann Power’s take on his music (the aforementioned NPR piece).
However, for me, what stands out first and foremost is the beauty of his voice. It definitely has a retro quality to it, as if he’s sitting in a cottage in Laurel Canyon, harmonizing with Linda Ronstadt and sharing a joint with Gram Parsons.
Check out his performance from KEXP (the one at the top) and let me know what you think!
Have a good week 🙂
therockmom 
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