Fear Fun

by Father John Misty

Overview

As J. Tillman, indie folk crooner Joshua Tillman painted sparse, often melancholic fever dreams that paired the wounded isolation of Nick Drake with the star-crossed country romanticism of Gram Parsons, a sensibility he also brought to the table as the drummer and backing vocalist for Seattle's Fleet Foxes. His latest incarnation, Father John Misty, adds Harry Nilsson and Skip Spence to the mix, skillfully imbuing the woodsy Pacific Northwest bark of the Foxes with a patina of vintage Laurel Canyon-inspired bohemia. Fear Fun opens with "Funtimes in Babylon," one of three tracks, including "Only Son of the Ladiesman" and "Everyman Needs a Companion," closely echoing the hymnlike sonic breadth of his former band. All three cater to his strong, clear voice, which sounds like a cross between Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) and Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater/Okkervil River), but it's tracks two and three that provide the album with its most transcendent moments. "Nancy from Now On," with its shambling protagonist ("Pour me another drink and punch me in the face"), likable gait, and legitimate yacht rock chorus, is a triumph of both style and substance, while the thick and brooding "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings," which ceaselessly wonders "Jesus Christ girl/What are people going to think?" amidst a wall of wet distortion and appropriately thunderous drums, benefits from singer/songwriter/Laurel Canyon scene revivalist Jonathan Wilson's warm and spacious production. Fear Fun's deft mix of folly and grandeur strikes a nice balance between the over the top hippie shenanigans of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and the vapid, calculated debauchery of Lana Del Ray, painting the artist as a self-destructive/deprecating Californian gadfly with one foot in the Salton Sea and the other in the lobby of the Chateau Marmont. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	05/01/2012
Label:	SUB POP
UPC:	0098787097023

Tracks

1. Funtimes in Babylon
2. Nancy from Now On
3. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
4. I'm Writing a Novel
5. O I Long to Feel Your Arms Around Me
6. Misty's Nightmares 1 & 2
7. Only Son of the Ladiesman
8. This Is Sally Hatchet
9. Well, You Can Do It Without Me
10. Now I'm Learning to Love the War
11. Tee Pees 1-12
12. Everyman Needs a Companion

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Father John Misty   Primary Artist
Jonathan Wilson   Trumpet,Mandolin,Vox Organ,Wurlitzer,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Guitar (12 String Acoustic),Piano,Bass
Hugo Nicolson   Omnichord
Gabriel Noel   Strings,Bass (Upright)
Leslie Stevens   Vocals
Wylie Gelber   Bass
Keefus Green   Mellotron,Piano,Synthesizer
Casey Wescott   Harpsichord,Piano,Bass
Zach Tillman   Bass
Ben Peeler   Pedal Steel
Sara Watkins   Fiddle

Technical Credits

Jonathan Wilson   Engineer,Producer
Hugo Nicolson   Engineer
Emma Garr   Photography
Dimitri Drjunchin   Artwork,Cover Painting
Wylie Gelber   Assistant Engineer
Josh Tillman   Producer,Composer
Sasha Barr   Design
Octave Mirbeau   Liner Notes
Jeff Kleinsmith   Design
Phil Ek   Mixing
Greg Calbi   Mastering