Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
Pure Comedy is Father John Misty at his most ambitious, expansive and uncompromising. Released in 2017, the album sees Josh Tillman turning his attention away from the more personal relationships of his earlier work and towards something considerably bigger: modern society, technology, religion, entertainment, politics and the strange contradictions of being human.
Across its sprawling songs, Tillman combines sharp satire and dark humour with moments of genuine melancholy and vulnerability. The result is an album that can be funny and uncomfortable at the same time, constantly shifting between social observation and introspection.
The title track “Pure Comedy” establishes the album’s scale immediately, while songs such as “Total Entertainment Forever,” “Ballad of the Dying Man” and “Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution”explore a world increasingly shaped by technology, consumption and our seemingly endless need for distraction.
At the centre of the album is the remarkable “Leaving LA,” an extended and deliberately unhurried piece that pushes Father John Misty’s storytelling into almost novelistic territory. Elsewhere, the arrangements move between intimate piano-led passages and sweeping orchestration, giving the record a cinematic scale without losing the focus on Tillman’s lyrics and voice.
An album made for concentrated listening
Pure Comedy is not designed as background music. It is a long, deliberately paced album that rewards being heard as a complete work, making the physical vinyl format particularly appropriate. The sequencing, artwork and expansive arrangements all contribute to an album that asks the listener to spend time with it.
It also represents an important chapter in Father John Misty’s catalogue. Where I Love You, Honeybear often looked inward at love and relationships, Pure Comedy looks outward at the world — before the more intimate God’s Favorite Customer followed in 2018.
For collectors as well as listeners, Pure Comedy is therefore much more than simply another Father John Misty release. It captures Josh Tillman at perhaps his most conceptually ambitious, combining sophisticated songwriting, orchestration, satire and social observation into one of the defining statements of his career.
Edition details
Artist / title: Father John Misty – Pure Comedy
Format: Vinyl / Album
Vinyl: Black
Released: 2017
Genre: Indie Rock / Singer-Songwriter
Every item at Mr. Hansen Records is conservatively graded according to the Goldmine Standard. Pre-owned vinyl records are professionally cleaned before dispatch, and all orders are securely packed with collector-grade care.