Label: Bella Union
Released: 8th April 2022
A cinematic masterpiece. With a full orchestra at his heels, Father John Misty’s fifth album is likely to be one of the classiest and most ambitious records of the year; only he could pull this off.
There are nods to The Beatles, Glen Campbell and Sinatra, while the opening number has the sort of swing that would get Fred Astaire back on his feet. It roots the album in the middle of the last century and feels as though it has been captured on black and white film in a smoke-filled speakeasy with a single spotlight on the crooning singer.
But still, Misty’s cynicism and dry wit pull the album into the (near) modern day as he wryly sighs about the house Val Kilmer used to own, and his admiration for someone who “charmed the pants off Letterman”.
